Purple Haze Appearing
by Arishia-chan
Summary: Fourth in the Ally Universe. The past returns and Ally's forced to use any means to keep her anime world.
1. intro and prologue

Arigatou everyone! I must say that I am very touched by the overwhelming support for this little alterna-universe called the Ally universe and the responses I've received not to let it end with "How He Saw Ally." As a gift to all of you readers, and to those who have given [Arishia's Journey Into Oasis][1] over 1400 hits I present to you yet another 'journey' into the Ally universe: "Purple Haze Appearing." This epic is only in its first pages but I've put together a little intro for you guys including a poem written by me as well as the Prologue. ^^ 

As always, if you haven't read "Alicia of Riaru, Ally of Anime," "Reflections in the Dark," and "How He Saw Ally" in that order, please do so before reading this. ^_~ 

The story is quickly taking shape so don't worry, it'll be up soon! 

I'll stop rambling now...enjoy... ^_^ 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~

_Oh purple haze, long journey . . .  
alone and washed ashore.  
You came expecting something  
and will leave expecting more . . . _

Oh purple haze appearing . . .  
in a world not made for you  
in a world not made for you  
but what can only one do? 

Oh purple haze confused . . .  
I remember you, only I.  
Existence determined by fate  
and fate torn down by sky . . .  
I changed it all, I changed it all  
Because of me you are  
only an aching mirage call. 

Oh purple haze reaching  
unlikely, unknown friend  
I had forgotten you  
until the very end . . . 

Oh purple haze disappearing . . .  
I know who is to blame...  
I changed it all . . . dear heart . . . 

. . . made you gone before you came . . . 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~

It has only been less than a year after the end of "Alicia of Riaru, Ally of Anime." 

The Gateway between riaru and anime still remains closed. 

Lives return to normal . . . until . . . 

Ally changed the DBZ world with her existence more than 10 anime years ago. The decisions she made prevented certain villians from coming and certain heros from being born. 

Now she's on a race to protect the alternate DBZ timeline she knows she created from discovering the truth. 

The truth about riaru, and the truth about the very world they live in. 

She thought she had everything covered . . . 

But what, _whom_, she forgot would shock everyone . . . especially a blue-eyed woman and hot-tempered Prince . . . 

Welcome to the newest installment in the Ally universe in which the future returns . . . 

Welcome to "Purple Haze Appearing." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~

**

A Prologue

** **

Prologue

**

He waved goodbye to her even though she couldn't see it. Her smile he imprinted into his memory. It would be a long time until he saw her again and he needed strength to travel the path before him. 

The tiny bottle lay clenched in his fist and he slid it into his jacket pocket as the capsule rose into the sky. The young man fought back the jitters in his stomach. He _had_ to do this, he reminded himself and seeing all the destruction from this height drove that thought into his brain. The future of the past, if that made sense, depended on him. Depended on this medicine. The life of Gohan's father lay in the young man's hands. 

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, resting his head on the back of the capsule. He was looking forward to seeing them all again. Meeting the man he never knew. His father . . . 

The young man squirmed again. He had a mission that he mustn't forget. 

Give the bottle to Gohan's father- Gokou- and then . . . 

And then help defeat_ them._

It would be hard. It would be tough. But he knew he could do it. He knew he was strong enough and yet . . . and yet . . . somehow he felt that, strength wouldn't play a part with whatever happened in the past when he went back. No, something else would factor in. But what that was he couldn't quite place. 

It didn't matter anyway. Besides, what could possibly be worse than those monsters, the androids? 

*** 

Seconds after the capsule rose into the sky, it vanished leaving the young man's mother behind to wait. 

She stood there long after the smoke cleared, gazing up at the sky. Her minds whirled through past calculations to make sure everything would be all right for her son. 

And then she gave a little sigh. "Goodbye, Trunks," she whispered. "And take care." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~

Well, that's all for now folks. The rest will be up soon, I promise! Ja ne! ^^ 

   [1]: http://www.gurlpages.com/obsess/arishia/home.html



	2. my secret, my life

Sorry about the long wait folks but be happy! I usually don't post chapters of a story until I'm totally done with it. But since you guys were so insistance, here you go...  
  
Also, if you haven't done it, please go back and read the Prologue! It's very important that you do! Thanks!  
  
Oh, and if you have no idea what this is about, you should go read it's prequels "Alicia of Riaru, Ally of Anime," "Reflections in the Dark," and "How He Saw Ally."   
  
****  
  
Chapter 1  
  
"Here it is, Ally," ChiChi said, holding up a slab of hamburger meat. Or trying to. The chunk was half as long as the mother of two was and nearly as wide.  
  
I laughed and put down the magazine I had been flipping through to help her load the meat into her cart. The open air market bustled, as always, with people doing last minute shopping before the week began.  
  
"I thought the butcher forgot to leave it out for us today," I told her and picked up two large sacks of potatoes.  
  
"He's never forgotten before, dear," ChiChi said and gave me a nudge with her elbow. "We're lucky the market gives discounts to regular customers."  
  
"You mean discounts to us." I shook my head. "Our two families alone must eat six cows a week by themselves and more if we let them. But talking about luck, how's Dad doing anyway?"  
  
ChiChi shrugged. "You know him. He's all healed and ready to fight again even after a week with no senzu."  
  
"Well, I'll have to be sure to thank him tonight." I dropped my voice down to a whisper. "Mom, I don't know what we would've done if Dad hadn't dropped out of the last Tenkai-ichi Budoukai so Vegeta could win."  
  
"My Gokou always did have a big heart," ChiChi said. She smiled a little as we waited in line to check out.  
  
I nodded and grinned. "Just as long as Vegeta never finds out Dad let Piccolo go all out on him so he'd have to drop out. I'd never hear the end of it."  
  
"Don't worry, dear. Our lips are sealed."  
  
ChiChi handed the cashier the money and we pushed the two loaded carts to her aircar.   
  
"Thanks for inviting us over for dinner tomorrow night, Mom."  
  
ChiChi waved a dismissal hand. "Will Vegeta be coming?"  
  
"Uh, uh. He took off again this morning."  
  
"I think it's in Saiya-jin blood," she stated and patted my shoulder. "I was lucky to get Gokou to stay home tonight. He's just itching to spar with your husband."  
  
I laughed. "Vegeta has been too but he won't let himself until he's toned his Super Saiya-jin form."  
  
"Saiya-jin men," ChiChi mused, shaking her head.   
  
Overhead, distant thunder flashed and threatened rain.   
  
"Come on," ChiChi insisted. "Let's hurry back and unload this stuff so you can get home before this storm hits."  
  
I agreed and we headed toward the mountains.  
* * *  
  
I stumbled through the front door, yawning violently. Sleep called out to me and I blinked a few times to stay awake long enough to make it into bed.  
  
A noise from the kitchen caught my ears and sent a jolt through my spine. Vegeta was gone training. The kids were at ChiChi's. The house should be empty.  
  
Should be.  
  
More noises were made and my heart leapt into my throat. A burglar. It had to be a burglar.  
  
Oh Kami, help me.  
  
Slowly, my eyes on the kitchen entryway to the right, I picked up an umbrella by the front door and raised it high. I edged toward the kitchen but it was too dark to really see. I could hear someone nearby so I took a deep breath and swung the umbrella.  
  
A hand shot out from the shadows, stopping the umbrella's decent. Fear shot through me as well as fierce pain. The hand was strong and there was nothing I could do.  
  
"Who who are you?" I choked out.  
  
There was a growl from my opponent and my hand was released. The umbrella clunked to the floor at my feet in the loud silence. I cradled my bruised wrist against my chest.  
  
"Vegeta?" I asked, unsure.  
  
"Who else would it be?" was the angry reply.   
  
Relief washed over me and with my uninjured hand I reached over and flipped on the light. The refrigerator door was wide open and several cabinet drawers lay on the floor.  
  
Vegeta stood nearby, eyes in slits and a frown on his face. "What's wrong with you, woman?"  
  
"Wrong with me? I wasn't expecting you back for at least a few days! I thought someone had broken into the house."  
  
He snorted and went back to the fridge. I started to pursue him further but sighed and searched for the first aide kit. Rummaging through the white box, I found some gauze and tape and gingerly wrapped my wrist in it.   
  
There was a blur and the swosh of air suddenly shoved aside. I looked up. Vegeta stood at my side and before I knew it, he grabbed my hand. Tears sprang to my eyes at the movement but I held them easily back.  
  
"What are you doing?" he growled, inspecting the gauze. Before I could answer, his dark eyes grew large. "I did this to you!"  
  
"Vegeta-"  
  
"Dammit, woman! Why didn't you say anything?"  
  
"Vegeta-"  
  
"Kami knows how frail you humans are!"  
  
"Vegeta-"  
  
"Is it broken?"  
  
"Vegeta!" I shouted. "Will you listen to me? My wrist is fine. I'm only wrapping it because touching it hurts. Now will you let go before you do break it?"  
  
He dropped my hand instantly. "You should have said so at the beginning."  
  
I uttered a frustrated noise, slammed the refrigerator door shut, and stalked out of the room.  
Upstairs was quiet and still. The kids, Trilku and Bapa, were spending the night over at ChiChi's place. The house seemed empty without their happy-go-lucky faces. I made my way to our bedroom, located in front of the stairs.   
  
That hot-headed Vegeta. I'm not as weak as he thinks I am.   
  
I sighed and formed a small ki ball on my palm, looking at it musingly until I let it fade away. I knew he hadn't meant to hurt me.  
  
It was the curse of both worlds. Here, in the anime world, I possess powers. Small ones, but large enough to do damage if I wanted.  
  
But because I'm not originally from anime, I can't be sensed. Vegeta didn't know I was behind him and therefore only reacted as he would've to any intruder.  
  
The best of both worlds, it's been called. And I guess in a sense that's true. Not being able to be sensed saved my life once. On Namek, when this whole fiasco began. When I first entered the anime world.  
  
Yeah, that's right. I wasn't born into the Dragon Ball Z universe, dimension, world, whatever you want to call it. I'm a child of riaru, no matter how much I would like to deny it. Riaru, the real world. The world I left behind.  
  
I'm called Alicia back there, in riaru. And I travel back sometimes to visit the friends and family I left behind.   
  
I'm always eager to return to anime. My home.  
  
How I first came to anime is a long, drawn-out story. I crashed, literally, in one of the worse possible places and times. Back then, Vegeta was my worse enemy. Back then, my future husband wanted me dead.  
  
But that all changed once he got stuck on Earth after the first battle with Frieza. It changed because . . .   
  
Ok, so I have a secret. Is that too much of a sin nowadays? A secret no one in anime knows about.   
  
At least I think no one knows about it.  
  
I crashed into anime broken and bleeding but I wasn't quite the small, helpless, naive, girl. I already knew the four people who stood over me the first time my large, emerald, anime eyes opened. I recognized them because because the Dragon Ball Z world is a cartoon show back in   
riaru called, well, called Dragon Ball Z.  
  
It's my greatest kept secret. I haven't told anybody for a very good reason . . . I want to keep what I have. I will keep what I have.  
  
I quickly changed into a nightgown, slipping beneath the cool sheets with a sigh. I was almost asleep when the bed dipped slightly and a strong arm pulled me to a lean body. Soft fingertips hesitantly, gently touched the bandage on my wrist.  
  
I snuggled closer and settled, letting the Prince know I didn't fear him.  
  
***  
  
Gomen for making that so short. It's just basically getting everyone uptodate on how everything is right now. The next will be much longer, promise! Ja ne! 


	3. what Kami said

Chapter 2  
  
I dreamed I was running. Toward what, I didn't know but I couldn't stop. Behind me shone the Gateway, the link between anime and riaru. It was trying to swallow me up, take me away from anime. My anime. Fear built inside me, suffocating and thick and heavy.  
  
Voices. I could hear them talking. Some would blare louder while others faded. In and out. In and out. A roller coaster of sound and confusion. I couldn't make out the words but somehow . . . somehow I knew what they were saying.  
  
Go home, Ally! Alicia! Go back to where you belong!   
  
Look how you've screwed up our lives.  
  
We aren't who we're supposed to be!  
  
And then in front of me, a figure appeared so quickly, so inhumanly quickly and finally I was allowed to stop running. It was dressed in shadow except for two eyes. Two cold blue eyes . . .  
  
"Where is the boy?" the figure demanded, something greater than bitterness and extreme sadness masked in its voice.   
  
***  
  
I awoke bathed in sweat. My back was chilly and a quick glance at the clock told me Vegeta had been gone nearly three hours. I closed my eyes again and the image of two cold blue . . .  
  
Immediately I sprang up from the pillow, breathing heavily.  
  
Who- who was that?  
  
Already my nightmare was drifting out of my mind. All except those eyes. A dream was just a dream but someone I knew this was more. I recognized those eyes.  
  
Shaking, I threw back the covers. It would be daylight soon and sleep wouldn't come back to me now. I put on a robe over my nightgown and walked over to the window. Bluish tones lined the horizon, painting everything in a strange glow. Unclasping the window, I slid it up and peered outside.   
  
A brisk wind blew my hair back, the braid whipping in the air. I shivered and was about to shut it when a dark shape flew past, causing even more of a stir inside the room. I caught a flash of green.  
  
Piccolo?  
  
Recovering, I leaned out the window as far as I could but all I could see was a quickly fading silhouette. Piccolo was in a big hurry to get wherever he was going but why would he come by our house? His own dwelling lay far away.  
  
Without another thought, I called out, "Flying Nimbus!" A few seconds later, the orange cloud appeared. I squeezed out the window and landed on my old friend. We took off after the Namekian.  
  
***  
  
Piccolo could easily have lost us. Nimbus was fast but he was definitely faster. Instead, we broke through a cloud and there he was, arms folded and cape billowing out behind him. His back was to me though I knew he was watching me from the corner of his eye.   
  
Nimbus came to a stop. I regarded him for a moment, then said, "You knew I would follow you."  
  
He was silent and didn't answer. I grew worried.  
  
"Piccolo? What is it? Has something happened?"  
  
"Kami is dying," was the quiet reply.  
  
Kami? God? The guardian of Earth? But . . . but how?  
  
"Is is he hurt?" I asked, moving up to Piccolo's side.  
  
"He's old, kid," he muttered. "Even Kami is mortal."  
  
"Oh." I looked down, at my hands. When I first came to anime, my hands were the first thing I   
noticed that had changed. Shenlong had been the one responsible for bringing me here. Him and Kami. And now Kami was passing away. I owed him so much.  
  
"Piccolo," I whispered, head still lowered. "Would you take me to Heaven?"  
  
I heard a chuckle and met the Namekian's gaze. His eyes were both sad and stern and Piccolo's view of life's irony reflected in them.  
  
"Kid," he said. "That's what Kami asked me to do. Leave that thing here."  
  
I gave a small nod. "Stay at Dad's house," I told Nimbus.  
  
Before I could say anything else, Piccolo scooped me up into his arms and we took off in a flash of light. I hid my face against his chest, trying to drive out some of the chilly night air.  
  
Piccolo and I share something I can't explain. He saved me once, in this incredible healing method. It was like a part of his own lifeforce was put into me, drove deep in my heart.  
  
I'll admit it; I was afraid. When Kami passed away, so would Piccolo. So would my friend and a part of myself.  
  
"Hey, you're getting my shirt wet."  
  
I looked up into his face and realized I'd been crying. Stupid weakness, I thought.  
  
Piccolo didn't saying anything else, only tightened his arms around me and increased speed. I think in a way he understood. Maybe the demon king was afraid as well.  
  
Soon we angled upward, rising vertically through the clouds. The air dropped drastically in temperature and made me wish I'd thought to put on some real clothes. That achy feeling rose in my stomach as Kami's Lookout came into view above us. It really wasn't as large as I imagined it and as I saw on TV once upon a time. The place seemed despondent, silent, and waiting.  
  
Piccolo set me down. "Wait here," he told me and walked into the small palace.  
  
I looked around. Bright flowers carefully planted and tended for circled the trees and buildings. Mr. Popo, Kami's long-time friend, came out of a small courtyard to the left. He carried a vase in his brown hands, a vase already stained with his tears.  
  
"Un, excuse me . . ." I called softly.  
  
He jerked his head up and the vase smashed on the polished floor.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry!" I hurriedly bent and picked up broken pieces.  
  
"No, no, it is I who am sorry," he insisted. I handed him the pieces apologetically and he kindly smiled. "I should have paid more attention. Piccolo said you were out here."  
  
"Causing more trouble, Ally?" The Namekian returned from inside the palace.  
  
I sighed. "Only the usual, Piccolo."  
  
"Well, stop. Come with me."  
  
I nodded. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Popo."  
  
"And you."  
  
Piccolo turned away and I fell into step at his side, solemn once more. "How much longer,   
Piccolo?"  
  
"Not long, kid. Not long."  
  
"Is . . . is he in pain?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Are you?"  
  
A pause. "Yeah."  
  
I stared down at my bare feet padding silently on the stone walkway and wondered why Kami asked to see me of all people. And as we came to a stop just outside a closed door, my unease grew worse. I glanced up at Piccolo and for the first time noticed the strain on his face. He could feel Kami weakening. Could feel him dying.  
  
And I could too.  
  
Piccolo opened the door, walked in the room, and moved over to the side. In a thin-mattress bed pushed up against the far corner lay Kami, the god of this Earth. He looked so frail, like he could be blown away by a single rushed breath and yet I could feel the great power within him.  
  
Suddenly I felt very foolish. Why was I here? Why was a girl like me allowed to stand   
barefooted and in her pajamas in front of the being who protected all other beings? My eyes flew to a position of respect and I made a move to back out of the room.  
  
"Ally." The word was strained and glazed with pain but refusing to give up to death just yet.  
  
I didn't know what to do. Silent, Piccolo had left, offering no help. I knew what I wanted to do. So I did just that.  
  
Kami seemed surprised as I slid my arms around his neck and gently gave him a hug. I pulled away, tears sparkling in my eyes.  
  
"My name is Ally," I said, as if he didn't already know.  
  
Kami smiled, a smile that made my heart go warm. He lay in his deathbed and yet still he was kind. "I know who you are," he said in that pain-shadowed voice.  
  
I glanced down at my hands, tightened them into fists to stop their shaking. Kami had to know everything about me. About riaru. But did he know how things in the Dragon Ball Z world were supposed to have been. Did he?  
  
Kami shifted in bed, trying to sit up more. "There is not much time left, child. Listen- listen to what I have to tell you quickly." A weak hand reached for my own and I took it.  
  
"There- there is something coming, young one."  
  
His warning cut into me like a frozen knife. "Something's coming?" I echoed, frowning. "What is it?"  
  
"A fog a- a threat."  
  
"A threat?" I echoed again. "Why are you telling me this? Shouldn't Gokou-"  
  
"Child of riaru, only you can hold " Kami spasmed in pain, gripped my hand like a vice.  
  
"Kami, what-"  
  
"Trials, doubts coming. You must wait, look for it. . . Soon . . . very soon . . ."  
  
"But what?" I desperately tried to find out. "What is coming?"  
  
"I am sorry. As the guardian of Earth, I cannot directly interfere."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, but you can't just- can't you just tell me?!"  
  
"Purple . . . a purple shadow . . . from ahead . . ." He collapsed back onto the thin pillow,   
breathing in great gasps like he couldn't get enough air after so many words.  
  
A few minutes passed helplessly listening to him struggle and I knelt beside his bed. "Kami . . . Kami, please . . ."  
  
He opened his eyes again and the sad depths cut over to me.  
  
"Kami," I repeated. "Just answer me this: is this new threat powerful?"  
  
". . . yes."  
  
I bit back a curse. The Z fighters would have to be warned of this.  
  
"How soon, Kami?"  
  
"I . . . I do not know for certain. A day. A month."  
  
Not much time. We would all have to train hard to prepare. There hadn't been a battle since Frieza escaped to riaru . . . because of me.  
  
I gave a swift nod of my head and stood. "Ok. I'll go tell the others."  
  
"No!"  
  
  
Kami's outburst startled me. "Why not?" I demanded. "We have to prepare!"  
  
"Not - not until the future returns. Only then will you " He tensed as another spasm ripped through his tired body. "-- will you know know what to do! Listen . . ."   
  
He pulled my face close to his and whispered, "Remember why you stayed. Remember what you changed and brought forth. Only you can heal the wounds that will come and make another decision. What you do could change it all." His voice dropped lower and I strained to hear. "Remember . . . what . . . you . . . forgot."  
  
A sigh escaped his lips and his eyes slid close. I didn't move, frozen in his words. The silence overwhelmed me and the only thing that dared to slice it was one beating heartbeat. My heartbeat. Mine. Only. One.  
  
I snapped back and stumbled to my feet screaming.  
  
"PICCOLO!"  
  
***  
  
The wait seemed endless. I packed back and forth, ignoring how cold it was. The sun shone in   
the morning sky, offering little warmth. Thunder crackled and shook the Lookout. The day would be a wet one.  
  
I let out a frustrated sound. How much longer?! I had been standing out here for at least an hour. Something should've happened by now! My bare feet padded on the stone and then stopped. I thought about what Kami had said but the warnings just seemed to jumble and confuse themselves in my head. I shoved them away, not wanting to think about it until later.  
  
A door opened and closed and Piccolo strode calmly to stand before me. I looked up into his piercing eyes. A feeling came over me. Of happiness, I guess. Or wonder. I just stood on tiptoe and threw my arms around Piccolo's neck. He was startled at first and then squeezed me back a little.  
  
It was amazing! The increase of power I felt in Piccolo took my breath away. Not even on TV had it seemed so great. I gazed up at his face, smiling, and he gave me a puzzled look.  
  
"You knew Kami and I would fuse, didn't you?"  
  
I shook my head. "I knew of the possibility though."  
  
"Figures."  
  
I grinned wider. "I'm glad you did."  
  
  
"Yeah, well, it was either this or bye bye me."  
  
"You made a good choice, Piccolo."  
  
"Guess so. Come on, kid. Let's get you home." He picked me up and headed toward the Earth far below.  
  
"By the way, Piccolo," I said, twisting around. "When will Dende get here?"  
  
The look on the demon king's face was priceless. I laughed as we zoomed toward the mountains, Kami's last words forgotten for now.  
  
***  
  
The mist had grown to a light drizzle of cold rain, easily soaking through my thin nightgown.   
Piccolo formed a ki shield for warmth but gooseflesh still raised on my arms. Restless night catching up to me, I relaxed my head on Piccolo's chest. My eyes drifted close and after a moment, I opened them again.  
  
"Why are we slowing?"  
  
"We're being followed," he answered calmly.  
  
"By who?"  
  
"Not sure." He came to a stop, turning around. "I need my hands free, Ally. Where is that cloud thing of yours?"  
  
"I sent it to Gokou's, remember?"  
  
Piccolo muttered a curse. "Ok, you'll just have to swing around and hang on."  
  
I nodded and did as he said, clinging to the folds of his cape. My heart beat loudly in my ears and I could hear the Namekian's through his gi. "Piccolo?" I whispered.  
  
"Quiet," he muttered back, crouching in midair. "Can you tell who it is, kid?"  
  
"Uh-uh."  
  
After a while, Piccolo tensed up. Then I heard a voice say coldly, "Oh, it is just you, Namekian."  
  
Piccolo snorted and instantly relaxed. "It's that 'mate' of yours, Ally."  
  
I popped my head over Piccolo's shoulder. "Hi, Vegeta!"  
  
The Saiyajin Prince's dark eyes narrowed further, if that were possible. "What are you doing?"  
  
"Taking a morning flight," I said brightly.  
  
He crossed his arms and glided around to glare at me. "Why the hell are you in your underwear?"  
  
I wrinkled my nose. "It's called a nightgown, Vegeta. And I didn't have time to change."  
  
"At least stop flashing everyone!"  
  
"I'm not "  
  
"Children, children," interrupted Piccolo. "Take your squabbling someplace else."  
  
"Hey Vegeta!"  
  
Vegeta immediately groaned. "You felt it too, Kakarot?"  
  
Gokou appeared, Gohan behind him. "You guys having a party?" He craned his neck to look   
behind Piccolo. "Ally!"  
  
"Morning, Dad. Gohan."  
  
Gokou's head tilted to the side. "Why are you in your pjs?"  
  
"Good question," added my anime brother, floating over. "We felt an enormous power increase over here and came to check it out."  
  
"You and I are leaving," growled Vegeta and scooped me off Piccolo's back.  
  
"Vegeta!" I squalled as he shot away from the others. Over his shoulder, I could see Gokou waving goodbye and sighed, twisted back around to execute a dirty look at Vegeta.  
  
"What's gotten into you?"  
  
When he didn't answer, I folded my arms. "Kami almost died earlier today. That's where I was. Piccolo and Kami fused in order to prevent it. So that's the power increase you felt. Now, stop being sulky."  
  
"I am not sulky."  
  
"Yes you are. Sulky and short."  
  
He dropped me. Just like that. I didn't scream or flail around, only waited patiently as the ground raced closer. A few feet above the treetops, there was a flash and Vegeta raced into the sky again with me in his arms.  
  
"One day, woman, I will not catch you."  
  
His dark eyes glittered and I laughed, twining my arms around his neck.  
  
***  
  
"So that's about it," said Piccolo, shrugging. "Dende's on his way from Namek and I'll have to teach him how to be god. Simple."  
  
The three of them stood on a small cliff overlooking the valley below. Their faces were solemn and if one studied the eyes of the strongest warrior in the universe, a few unshed tears might've been noticed.  
  
Kami had been a great friend to Gokou all through his life. Even though the old Namekian in a sense wasn't really dead, it still pained him to know his friend was gone at last.  
  
The Saiyajin felt a light touch on his arm and Gohan smiled at him wanly. Gokou returned it, already feeling better.  
  
"Well," he said, standing. "We'll wait for Dende to arrive."  
  
Gohan nodded. "It will be great to see him again. Somehow I always knew I would."  
  
Straightening, Piccolo turned away from them. "One more thing . . . there was something Kami told Ally before we fused. Don't know what . . . but we had all start training harder. Something is coming . . . and it's not Dende's welcoming committee."  
  
***  
  
I slammed the door behind me angrily. Ohh that Vegeta! He'd gone and locked himself in his precious gravity room when I refused to tell him why Kami had wanted me to come to Heaven and what he had said to me.  
  
The truth was- I didn't want to think about Kami's last words. They scared me. What new enemy was coming? What new challenges would we be forced to face? Whatever it was, Kami had feared it.  
  
"Just answer me this: is this new threat powerful?"  
  
". . . yes."  
  
And why tell me?  
  
I sighed in frustration. I was, by far, not the strongest fighter of the Z team. On Namek, I had first discovered what my anime body could do and it wasn't much. Mostly just a mismatch of different attacks and ways of using the ki blasts of other fighters. Not my own power, but rather those of others.  
  
I threw back the closet door and rummaged around for something to wear. That Vegeta could just pout in his squashing machine for all I cared. I'd go to my parents' house alone. Finding the dress I'd been looking for, a nice green thigh-length number, I slipped it on and grabbed my keys.  
Vegeta was by the front door, scowling but obviously ready to go with me. For once, he'd put on some regular clothes, a plain shirt and khaki slacks. I just rolled my eyes at him when he followed me into the car. As I cranked the engine and headed further into the mountains, the heavy clouds finally split open and the Heavens wept.  
  
***  
  
Only one light dotted the inside of Capsule Corporation, the flickering light from a television blaring some Sunday night movie. Bulma lay on the couch, her head resting against Yamucha. Their son, Torank, only a little older than Trilku, sat on the floor, munching on a bowl of popcorn.  
  
"Turn up the volume a little," said Bulma, the rain beginning to pound angrily on the roof.   
Lightning briefly lit up tree branches and was quickly followed by a rough burst of thunder.  
  
Yamucha craned his neck to look behind her. "Storm's getting bad out there."  
  
As if in mockery, the television flickered, lines running across the screen before going black. The house seemed to sigh.  
  
"Shit," muttered the former desert bandit.  
  
Bulma raised up on her elbows. "Three . . . two . . . one . . ." There was a humming noise and a blue light came on, casting a sickly glow over the three faces. "The back-up generators worked."  
  
"I'll go reboot the system, Mama," said Torank, scrambling to his feet and racing off.  
  
Thunder rattled the frame of Capsule Corporation again and the faint sounding of the doorbell was almost lost in the fury.  
  
"I'll get it," sighed Bulma.  
  
***  
  
I helped ChiChi carry over the last heapful of food over to the table. The Saiyajins were already digging in. ChiChi and I, the only full-blooded humans in the room, munched off to the side to avoid getting trampled in the madness. Even Bapa, usually so polite, was munching away to her demi Saiyajin heart's content.  
  
Looking over at Gokou in the middle of the food chaos, I said in a quiet voice, "Dad seems to be taking Kami's passing ok."  
  
ChiChi nodded. "Kami was a good friend to him. Piccolo sure surprised me though."  
  
"With the fusion?" I smiled. "Piccolo has a good heart. He really does. He just doesn't want us to know that."  
  
ChiChi stared down at her plate. "Ally, what did Kami tell you? Gokou didn't know."  
  
"Only that I remember everything that's happened to me," I answered, carefully picking my words. That was true, in a way.  
  
"That's all?"  
  
"Yeah, that's all." I stood and joined the guys at the table, ruffling Goten's hair. "It wasn't important, Mom. Don't worry."  
  
***  
  
When Bulma opened the front door, at first she couldn't see anything. The rain formed a blanket of chilly water pouring from the slick roof and blinded her vision.  
  
"H-hello?"  
  
A shadow appeared in front of her, silent, and took a step forward. Bulma's eyes widened as the figure took another hesitant step and then fell forward into the entryway.  
  
"Yamucha!" the blue-haired woman yelled, dropping to her knees beside the still young man.  
  
Kami, he's burning up, she realized as she lay a hand against the flushed cheek.  
  
Yamucha came running into the room. "What the "  
  
"Come on! Help me get him into the infirmary!"  
  
He nodded and hauled the young man to his shoulder. The stranger's eyes flickered open, sliding to Bulma.  
  
"Kaa-san . . ." he whispered and his eyes rolled again as he slipped into unconsciousness.  
  
Yamucha looked at Bulma questionably but she shook her head.  
  
"I've never seen him before," she insisted.   
  
And yet . . . and yet she couldn't quite shake the feeling that had washed over her. Maybe it was   
those bright blue eyes that gave her chills and raised the hair on her neck. Or maybe, just maybe, it was the Capsule Corporation logo imprinted on the young man's jacket.  
  
***  
Oi, a bad place to stop, I know! More to come! Gomen gomen. ::bows:: 


	4. the young stranger

Sorry guys for taking so long. I gotta feeling I'm going to have to say that a lot in the next few  
months. ::ducks flying objects thrown by obsessed people:: I can't help it! If you want this fic to  
make any sense at all, it'll gonna take some time to write. So ja ne!  
  
  
Chapter 3  
  
We sat in silence, listening to the rain. Vegeta leaned against the far corner, arms folded and head  
lowered. I noticed the sweat glistening on his temple. Something was bothering him but what I  
couldn't tell. Gokou stood right of the Prince, gazing out a window as water droplets blurred the  
glass.   
  
The young boys and Bapa were upstairs, hopefully asleep. Whatever had Dad and Vegeta alerted  
had them three spooked and it had taken many stories to calm them down. The power outage  
wasn't helping any either and a few candles were dotted around to shed a little light. The only  
sounds were the ever-present rain and noises from ChiChi cleaning the kitchen.  
  
Gohan, my little brother no longer so little, sat beside me on the floor. I remembered the first  
time we met, how small he was and yet still so brave.  
  
"Sis?"  
  
"What is it, Gohan?"  
  
"Do you feel what father and Vegeta are feeling?"  
  
I shook my head. "Not at all. Do you?"  
  
"Yeah," he answered, hesitating. "Not as strongly, though."  
  
"Well, what is it?"  
  
"I- I don't know." His brow furrowed, eyes sliding shut in concentration. "It's like a haze . . .   
almost familiar in a way . . . I-"  
  
The phone cut through his next words. ChiChi picked it up in mid-ring.  
  
"Hello? Bulma, is something wrong?" A pause as she listened. "A boy?" Another long pause.   
"Yes, yes, I'll be right over." Click as she returned the phone to its receiver.  
  
"Mom?" I called. "What happened?"  
  
ChiChi hurried out of the kitchen, an arm already slung through her jacket. "Bulma just called  
and said some strange boy showed up on her doorstep. She said he was wearing a Capsule Corp  
logo and thinks maybe he's one of her employees." She made a face. "Anyway, he looks familiar  
to her but she wants us to come over and see if we can identify him."  
  
"Why us?" I wondered.  
  
ChiChi straightened her collar and opened the front door, fierce wind threatening to wrench her  
coat away. "Bulma said the boy's delirious with fever and keeps mumbling names." She glanced  
over at her husband who had perked up. "One was Gokou's."  
  
Instantly, Gokou flew out the door in a burst of ki, Vegeta on his heels.  
  
"Wait on us!" I yelled but the Saiyajins were already gone.  
  
"Come on," said ChiChi, opening her umbrella.   
  
"What about the kids?"  
  
"I'll stay," said Gohan, standing and sticking his hands in his pockets.  
  
I nodded. "Let's go then."  
  
If possible, the rain came down harder outside.  
  
***  
  
The Saiyajins landed just outside of Capsule Corporation as well pulled up. Bulma opened the  
front door and we all ran inside, getting soaked in just those few seconds.  
  
"Our power's out," Bulma said, indicating the eerie blue lights above. She motioned us down the  
hallway. "The boy's down here."  
  
I sided closer to Vegeta whose dark eyes were narrowed and focused intensely ahead. Gokou  
was on my left, just as tense.  
  
"I feel it now, Vegeta,' I whispered.  
  
"I am surprised it took you so long," he muttered. "That boy's ki is screaming."  
  
"Screaming?" I restated.  
  
"He is very strong," explained Gokou."  
  
"How strong?"  
  
"Very," was all he answered.  
  
I left it as that and followed Bulma to a back room. The pounding in my head grew louder, like a  
heart-beat or loud whisper. It was like my recurring dream all over again except the voices. The  
voices were silent. Could this have been what the others felt?  
  
Bulma punched a number into the keypad on the door and it slid open. She stepped aside and I  
entered first. The room was dark; the only light came from a backup lamp on the table.  
  
"How is he doing?" I asked the blue-haired woman, edging over to the bed.  
  
"His fever broke," she said, checking the young man's pulse in the dim light. His hand was tan   
and the sleeve of his jacket also came into view. "He wouldn't let us take off his wet things  
though."   
  
Bulma scowled at the figure still encased in shadow. She leaned against the wall, folding her arms  
loosely. "He keeps drifting in and out of consciousness, muttering names in his sleep like yours,  
Gokou. And Gohan . . . And mine . . . He also kept repeating the words 'artificial' and  
'medicine." She shrugged. "But I haven't a clue what he's talking about. I was hoping you would  
know him, Gokou, since he mentions you so much."  
  
"Not me," Gokou responded. "I've never seen him."  
  
"Idiots," Vegeta barked suddenly. "The boy is obviously disoriented. We are wasting our time  
here." And with that he stalked out of the room.  
  
Oy, Vegeta. I moved to follow him but a light tough on my shoulder stopped me.  
"Ally?"  
  
I turned back to Bulma. "Yes?"  
  
"The storm's getting pretty bad out there. You and Vegeta and the others are welcome to stay  
the night."  
  
"Thanks," I smiled. "But Gohan and the kids will be getting worried."  
  
"Already taken care of. ChiChi's calling them right now."  
  
"Well, ok then. But only if the storm doesn't lighten up."  
  
Bulma nodded and we both stepped out of the small room, leaving the young man behind. "You  
and Vegeta can take this room," she told me, indicating down the hall.  
  
"Thanks, Bulma."  
  
"No problem. So, did you recognize him?"  
  
"The boy? No."  
  
The blue-haired woman seemed disappointed. "What a mystery," she sighed. "Are you all right,  
Ally?"  
  
"What? Oh yeah." I wiped the sweat off my brow. "That boy . . . has he said his name?"  
  
Bulma shook her head. "Are you sure you're alright?"  
  
"I'm fine." I straightened and flipped my hair out of my eyes. "Maybe if I just go lie down for a  
bit."  
  
"Sure. Just holler if you need anything."  
  
I thanked the older woman again and walked to the spare room she'd shown me. Pulling back the  
covers, I turned off the battery powered lamp and climbed into the small bed. It might have been  
two, three minutes later when the bed dipped slightly.  
  
"What's wrong with you?" came Vegeta's annoyed voice from darkness.  
  
I rolled over to face him. He had taken his shirt off and his muscular back gleamed in the dim  
starlight pouring through a window.  
  
"The boy's power level- "  
  
"Is probably nothing," he finished for me.   
  
I sat up a little. "But Gokou said he was very strong."  
  
"Kakarot only meant compared to you weak humans." The Prince snorted. "If his power level  
had been anything to worry about, I would have sensed it."  
  
"I guess you're right," I agreed, sighing and laying back down. I didn't bring up the fact that the  
boy could easily have been hiding his true powers, just as most fighters could. But the likeliness  
that he was a fighter anyway was slim.   
  
Wasn't it?  
  
"Where are you going?"  
  
"For a walk," I said quickly, realizing that I'd sat up again in my thoughts. "I- I need time to  
think."  
  
Vegeta studied my face for a moment before turning back over. "That boy is nothing."  
  
I just nodded, threw back the covers, and left the room. The hall was silent, lit by a small light  
overhead. I couldn't hear the rain anymore; maybe the storm had finally passed.  
  
I let myself wander down the hall. The drumming in my head I'd felt earlier grew noticeable  
again. Almost unbearable until I walked past the room of the young stranger. I paused in  
midstep. The pounding stopped. All of it. I glanced around and moved closer to the door.  
The 5-number code was easy to remember and I quickly tapped it in. The door sprang open. I  
shielded my eyes with a hand against the bright light inside. Then I blinked, slowly lowering my  
hand.  
  
The young man sat on the edge of his bed, in the process of tying one boot. He jerked his head  
up and pale eyes containing emotion like nothing I'd ever seen stared up at me. Lavender hair  
framed the boy's handsome face. I stumbled back a little and he rose to his feet, pale eyes  
confused.  
  
Suddenly I grew dizzy, grasping the doorframe for support. Those eyes . . . those so familiar pale  
blue eyes.  
  
The young man took a hesitant step toward me. "Uh, do you know me?"  
  
By Kami! The hair, the eyes, the clothes, the voice! I knew it all, and yet I couldn't . . . quite . . .  
  
"You ca-can't be-" I choked out. Get a grip, Ally, get a grip! He's not- he can't possibly be   
  
"No . . ." I whispered and darted out the door, slapping on the panel to close it behind me.  
  
I couldn't breathe; the walls seemed to press in around me. I ran out of Capsule Corporation,  
sprinted away from the building and into the trees. I finally stopped, gasping for air, resting my  
hands on my thighs. I felt sick but straightened to keep running.  
  
I gasped. "Piccolo!" I cried. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"  
  
The former demon king crossed his arms, stepping away from the tree he had been leaning  
against. "Taking a midnight stroll, Ally?"  
  
I mimicked him by folding my arms, trying to look tough and yet still shaking. "For one thing, it's  
not midnight. And for another- " I faltered, staring at the ground.  
  
"What is it?" Piccolo asking, moving to stand beside me.   
  
"Nothing," I muttered. I had to find out who that boy was. But how? No one knew who he was;  
no one knew anything about him. I felt the panic rise again. If he really was . . .  
  
"Piccolo, open the Gateway."  
  
The Namekian started. "How the hell am I supposed to do that? The Gateway is closed for two  
more years and then only the Eternal Dragon can open it."  
  
"And Kami," I pointed out. "So open it."  
  
"I can't."  
  
I grey angry. "You're part Kami now, Piccolo. I know he's in there and I know he can hear me.   
Piccolo, please! Tell Kami I need into riaru right now!"  
  
He bared his teeth at me in a snarl with slitted eyes. "I don't know what's gotten into you, Ally,"  
he muttered. "But doing this defies every kind of rule involving Earth and space and time that I  
can think of."  
  
"And Kami didn't break several of those rules himself when he and Shenlong brought me here?   
Don't stand there and tell me those rules can't be broken one more time."  
  
"Fine," he snapped, pointing a finger at me. "But you owe me one, a big one, after this."  
  
"Anything," I said. "All I need is five minutes."  
  
"Where do you want to be taken?"  
  
"My riaru parents' house."  
  
Piccolo turned away from me, walking farther into the woods. "It's done. Five minutes."  
  
And then I saw that familiar blinding brightness and the anime world faded from my sight.  
  
***  
  
The house was empty and I found the hidden key and let myself in. I think my parents were on  
vacation. Who knew? Who cared? My room was upstairs, my old room left untouched by my  
parents in the hopes they would wake up and find I wasn't gone after all. They would be hoping  
for a long, long time.  
  
I plan in staying in anime until the day I die.  
  
Running upstairs, I glanced at the clock. 10:32 PM. I had three minutes to find what I needed.   
Three measly minutes.  
  
I flung open the door to my old room, darting to the tv. Or, more precisely, the mismatch of  
video tapes stacked beside it. I grabbed them, glancing at the labels, and tossing them over my  
shoulder one by on. There. I found the tape I was looking for. The dust-covered surface, the  
beat-up black plastic that had once been my only joy giver.  
  
  
The scruffy label read: Androids Saga, episodes 118-121.  
  
Shaking a little, my hand slid the tape inside the VCR, turned on the tv, and pressed PLAY.  
  
And the screen came alive.  
  
***  
  
MUAHAHA! Ok, I'm sorry for stopping right there. BUT, if I had stopped at this other place  
coming up, you'd have been even madder, so until the next chapter... tata!  
  
By the way, I'm glad you all are enjoying this little alternate universe so much. You can't imagin  
how that makes me feel to read all your wonderful reviews. Thanks from the bottom of my heart,  
really. 


	5. Ally's plan

Chapter 4  
  
I felt the Gateway's light envelope me. The last two minutes had passed by quickly and I didn't  
move when the glow washed in. My grey eyes didn't blink; they couldn't blink. I couldn't move,  
but only hovered in the vastness of the portal between worlds while my heavier riaru body  
mutated into my lithe anime body full of paint and smoothness.   
  
The shock overwhelmed me and I felt that if I tried to move, my limbs would just snap I was so  
tense. I wanted to cry. I wanted to laugh insanely. And I wanted to scream at the top of my  
lungs.  
  
I did nothing except float and stare blankly at nothing until the Gateway left me in the midst of the  
woods outside Capsule Corporation. The wet grass seeped into my clothes as I sank to the  
ground once my feet touched. I felt a light touch on my head and looked up into the carefully  
blanked face of Piccolo.  
  
"I'm fine," I lied, noting his silent question. My eyes turned to the grass again. The long-nailed  
hand resting on my head pressed in a little more firmly before raising in a swish of cloth. Piccolo  
was gone.  
  
I sat there for a while longer before getting to my feet and heading back toward Bulma's  
company. Bulma . . . how would she handle this news? I thought back to what I remembered of  
the Dragon Ball Z show. Bulma had actually taken the news very easily. And Vegeta . . .  
  
Vegeta I couldn't remember. I couldn't remember!  
  
I let out a groan and quickened my pace. Then it hit me. He was in there. How could I face that  
boy? How could I now that I knew who he really was?  
  
Ally, Ally, I mentally chided myself. You're not even sure if he is the right one.  
  
But what if he is?  
  
"Argh!" I shifted undecidedly outside the dome-shaped building. I was Ally sei Vegeta, the wife  
of the Prince of the Saiyajins, the adopted daughter of the strongest man in the universe. I had  
once stood up to Frieza himself. I could deal with the consequences of that boy actually being  
who I feared he was.   
  
And besides, I was being silly. That boy couldn't possibly be him. The timing was all off. The  
androids should have appeared a long time ago and yet hadn't to my knowledge.  
  
Yes, I'm being silly.  
  
I squared my shoulders and grasped the front doorknob, swinging it open. I half expected the boy  
to be standing there in the middle of the living room but it was empty, everyone having gone to  
bed. I relaxed, walking down the hallway to where Vegeta was, and froze.   
  
The boy stepped out of his room and started when he saw me. We stared at each other; time  
seemed to stop.  
  
"Do you know me?" he asked again. He nervously flickered a hand through his violet hair, blue  
eyes plagued with emotions I couldn't comprehend.  
  
I choked back a sob. The hall seemed to tip sideways.  
  
My Kami, you tried to warn me.  
  
My Kami, it is him.  
  
Trunks, from the future. Mirai Trunks.  
  
***  
  
"Ally, Ally!"  
  
People were calling my name and I struggled to reply.  
  
"Ally, dammit! Wake up, Ally!"  
  
I did, my grey eyes sliding carefully open. Everyone was leaning over me worriedly and my head  
lay in ChiChi's lap.  
  
"What happened?" I said, sitting up and holding a hand to my forehead.  
  
"You fainted, dear," ChiChi informed me.  
  
Bulma jutted a finger behind her. "The mysterious youth here didn't know what to do so he   
woke us up."  
  
"Huh?" I mumbled.  
  
The small group parted, like the Red Sea, and the boy stepped forward. He was blushing, head  
lowered and shoulders hunched. When he spoke, I realized then that this was the figure that had  
haunted my dreams. Those blue eyes . . .  
  
"I wasn't sure if you were okay," he said softly. He seemed hesitant, choosing his words  
cautiously. "I just couldn't tell."  
  
Before I could answer, the phone rang loudly, startling us all.  
  
"I'll get it!" yelled Yamucha and he hurried away. Moments later, he came back, cordless phone  
in hand. "It's for you, Ally. It's Krillin."  
  
I frowned and got to my feet. I was careful to keep my eyes off of the lavender-haired boy,  
Trunks. I knew if I did, I was bound to totally lose it.  
  
I took the received from Yamucha and moved away. "Hello, Krillin?"  
  
"Hey, Ally," came the short monk's grave-sounding voice. "I'm sorry to call so late."  
  
"No problem," I said, grinning a little. "Remember that I used to call you all the time way too  
late. But Krillin, what's the matter?"  
  
"I'm not sure," he admitted. "I wanted to see if you knew what's going on, since you seem to  
have an inkling for this sort of thing sometimes. I called your home. No answer. I called  
ChiChi's and Gohan said you were at Bulma's so I called here. I just got this weird feeling, Ally  
girl. It's got both me and Master Roshi spooked. We think there's some great power headed this  
way, or maybe it's here already. Have you or the other's felt anything?"  
  
"Yeah," I said, glancing at the small group watching me. Trunks met my gaze. I looked quickly  
away. "Listen, Krillin. I'll call you tomorrow, okay? And we'll get together and watch that game  
on TV."  
  
"Wha-?" was his confused remark but I quickly said goodbye and hung up.  
  
I chuckled weakly, answering the others' questioning looks. "Ah, Krilliin's a little too excited  
about that game tomorrow."  
  
"What ga-" started Yamucha but Bulma's elbow in his side shut him up.  
  
"Can't you see she's tired?" Bulma said, waving a hand at me. "It's past midnight and I've got  
work tomorrow morning anyway. So, shoo shoo! Off to bed everyone!"  
  
Vegeta shot her a hard look and I uneasily sided up to him and looped my arm around his. He  
tensed, as usual, and glared down at me but allowed me to tug him further down the hallway. I  
wanted to get him away from Trunks. It was too weird to see his future 'parents' standing  
together like that. In his mind, that's who they were. In my mind, Vegeta belonged only to me.  
  
Trunks still had his head ducked, blue eyes carefully observing Vegeta through lavender strands of  
hair. He had never known his father, but he still looked so much like him . . .  
  
"Come on, Vegeta," I said, flashing what I hoped was a smile. "Bulma, uh, what about him?"  
  
The woman put her hands on her hips. "You too, young man," she ordered Trunks. "We'll figure  
out what's going on in the morning."  
  
  
He agreed softly, turning his eyes to each of us before slipping by and entering his room. The  
door closed and we all seemed to breathe a little easier. The six of us said our goodnights and  
Bulma, Yamucha retired along with ChiChi.  
  
"Goodnight, Dad," I said to Gokou but he caught my arm as Vegeta and I passed.  
  
"What is it, Kakarot?" Vegeta growled.  
  
"I'm getting Gohan and Piccolo together tomorrow morning to spar." I noticed how serious his  
face was. Trunks' power . . . they could still sense it like I could. That's what Krillin had been  
talking about. If only they knew just how powerful Trunks really was . . . "Be there?" he asked  
Vegeta.  
  
The other Saiyajin snorted but I saw he inclined his head ever so slightly.   
  
My anime father leaned closer and said in a lower voice, "I sense much hate in that boy. And  
much sorrow. Yet there is no blackness in his heart."  
  
We were all silent with Gokou's uncharacteristic words. My husband grunted in reply and walked  
down the hallway to our guest room. Giving Gokou a meaningful look, I followed.   
  
Things had just gone from fair to bad, very bad. What was I supposed to do? I didn't even have  
Kami anymore to talk to about this. Not that I could actually tell anyone.   
  
That's it!  
  
I formulated a plan right there and then . . . a plan to never let anyone find out who Trunks really  
was.   
  
And to never let anyone know how things should have been.  
  
***  
  
Trunks pressed his ear against the door, listening for any sounds that they were still out there.   
They weren't. The door hissed open and he stepped out into the empty hallway with every intent  
of leaving Capsule Corporation. Then he heard that girl's voice- Ally, they had called her.   
  
He had been bewildered at how familiar she was with the others. Kaa-san had never mentioned  
her before. Maybe whatever changed Gokou's arrival time had also brought her into their lives.   
It seemed unlikely but everything kaa-san calculated had gone wrong. Gokou was already home  
and Frieza . . . Frieza was no where to be found.   
  
He listened a while longer to Ally's muffled words and Vegeta's responsive grunting. His father  
had been very worried about the girl with the braid when she had fainted- another thing that  
confused him.   
  
What was going on?  
  
Trunks sighed and moved back into the room, tapping the panel to close the door. Maybe  
someone could answer his questions. If he could confide in someone . . . that would make it all  
the more easy.  
  
But who?  
  
The young man slid off his boots and stretched out on the small bed. Gokou, his mother's old  
friend. Tomorrow he'd talk to Gokou. Tomorrow he'd give him the medicine and tell him about  
the androids.  
  
*********  
  
Phew, talk about things going from fair to very bad! I'm trying as hard as I can to write this fic...  
don't worry! Major Ally and Trunks-chan torture coming up! 


	6. more troubles

Whew, okay, so maybe it's been a LONG time since I posted a chapter... but then again, the WHOLE fanfic is almost finished! ^_^ This was probably the most difficult chapter I've ever had to write. It's all downhill from here and most likely I'll have another chapter posted within the week. I tried to make this one longer than the others. Some long chapters will be coming up so don't worry. 

Well, enough chatter. I'm sure you don't wanna hear me ramble on forever... here's the chapter... Happy New Year. ^_^   
  


**Chapter 5**

The slight shift in the bed as Vegeta rose woke me early the next morning. I watched him dress through one sleep-hazed eye, turning so I could bury my cheek into his pillow. Vegeta tugged on his rumpled grey tanktop and faded blue jeans, then fixed dark eyes upon me. 

"Are you coming?" 

"Do you really think there's a reason to?" I countered, my voice slightly muffled in the pillow. 

"Do you?" 

Heaving an annoyed sigh, I rubbed the sleep from my eyes with the back of my hand and sat up. Two conversations were going on here and neither I really wanted to address at eight o'clock in the morning just as I hadn't wanted to last night. Vegeta came over to the bedside; I sighed again and scooted over to make room for him. 

"Do you think this power is strong enough to worry over?" I asked, and added haughtily, "Don't answer with a question." 

"Yes," he said, studying my face. "I am not worried but I was unprepared once and I will not be so again." 

I nodded, understanding that he was referring to the second battle with Frieza in riaru. The battle none of us ever wanted to talk about. 

Vegeta's gaze hardened. "And if Kakarrot is going to train, so will I." 

"Right." I shifted behind him and leaned my forehead against his warm shoulder. For a moment he didn't say anything. Then I felt an intensely strong hand grab my wrist, the one uninjured, and lightly tug me to stand in front of him. 

"Are you coming?" he demanded once more. 

_Can you? _he was asking. _Can you fight again if an enemy shows up? Can you use the same power you used before? Can you?_

Could I? 

There was a great chance that this 'enemy' supposedly coming (or here already) was only Mirai Trunks and therefore not an enemy at all. The weird feeling we'd all been having seemed to be centered on the boy yet no one had put two and two together. Still . . . I refused to just stay behind and watch as the others trained, even if I couldn't summon up enough power to get my feet off the ground by myself. 

"I'll come in a minute," I told him. 

Vegeta accepted my answer with a grunt, stood, and stalked over to the large bay window nearby. He raised it swiftly with an arm. 

I frowned. "Vegeta! Don't go out the-" A swoosh of stirred air and I was alone in the guest room. ". . . window . . ." 

*** 

I quickly dressed and hurried down the hallway to find Bulma and perhaps beg for breakfast. Trunks's door slid open just as I passed by and I found myself staring into two deep blue eyes. 

"Good morning," he said, hesitating slightly. 

"G-Good morning," I returned after somehow my voice. I forced a bright smile and stuck out my hand. "I'm sorry! We weren't properly introduced. I'm Ally." 

A warm hand curved around mine in a brief handshake. "I am . . ." Then his eyes darkened and fell to the floor. 

I wanted to scream. So he was going to put up this front after all? What was he going to try and accomplish? Would he attempt to talk to Gokou? Argh! Too many questions! Well, at least he was being careful about spilling who he was and risking the possibility of not being born. 

I suddenly felt sick. 

Trunks was shifting nervously from one foot to the next. I must have paled because his eyes widened and he asked, "Are you alright?" 

I nodded a little too insistently and found myself laying a hand on his arm. "Hey, it's okay. You don't have to tell me anything about yourself." _Not yet anyway._

The corners of his mouth turned up just barely. "Thank you . . . Ally." 

I shrugged, tossing my braid over one shoulder. "So, would you like to go with me to bug Bulma into getting us some food?" 

"Uh, I was actually trying to find Gokou. Have you seen him by chance?" 

My insides turned cold. "Sure haven't," I said truthfully. _And even if I had, I wouldn't tell you_. "Come on. You know you're hungry!" 

"But-" 

"Rumble! Rumble! I can hear it!" 

"Alright," he agreed reluctantly, again sporting a fraction of a tiny smile, and followed me into the kitchen. Bulma was sitting at the table, munching on a burnt bagel and reading the morning paper. She glanced up at us when we entered. 

"Good morning," she said brightly. "Afraid this morning's breakfast is free-for-all. There's bagels or cereal so take your pick." 

I gave a soft laugh, remembering how Bulma had never been famous for wonderful meals, unlike my own anime mother. "A bagel sounds fine to me," I said and grabbed a package of them from the counter. Trunks was hovering near the entrance to the kitchen. A blush had crept up his neck and he was trying hard to keep his eyes off Bulma. 

"Oy," I called, plastering a smile on my face. "Want a bagel?" 

Trunks jerked blue eyes to meet my own green ones. They were so, so sad, and my smile wanted to falter. But then he seemed to shake himself and crossed the kitchen to heat up his own dozen bagels. 

Bulma laughed when she saw his plate piled high with the crusty things. "You eat like some other people I know do," she commented, studying the boy musingly. "I swear Gokou could always pack away two dozen of those little things." 

"I apologize," Trunks said softly, but she waved a hand. 

"Don't worry about it. You get used to it after awhile." She and I shared a knowing look behind his back and then Bulma went back to reading her paper while I sat down across from her. Trunks finished heating his heap of food and then took his own seat adjacent to both of us. Silence mostly filled the kitchen except for the sounds of food being devoured and the occasional rattle of the newspaper. Bored with watching Trunks watch Bulma, I settled on reading what I could of the back of the paper the blue-haired woman was holding up. 

"Anything interesting?" I inquired lazily, nibbling a corner of a bagel. 

"Not much," Bulma answered, moving on to another section. "Videl's father announced he was leaving the martial arts business, but that's about it." 

"Did he now? Suppose he couldn't handle it." 

"Suppose." 

I rested my chin on one palm and scanned over the headlines. "New Type of Virus Decoded." Boring. "Mr. BlahBlah Awarded City Key." Whatever. "CC Developed New Design to Encapsule Frozen Food." Nothing new. "40-Year-Old Laboratory Found Destroyed." Same oh, same- 

Laboratory? 

I tilted my head to read more of the article. "Cave explorers were hiking the cliffs near South City when they stumbled upon a hole in the cliff side that led deep into the mountain. What they found were the abandoned ruins of an old laboratory of some kind. Officials scouting the area also uncovered two buried bodies inside. One was of the late Dr. Gero, an infamous scientist for his research in bio-prosthetics. The other body could not be identified." 

The paper rattled as Bulma made a move to switch over to the back page. In a quick movement, I snatched that side of the newspaper before she could see it. 

"I- I was reading that!" I said at her bewildered expression. 

She shrugged. "Take it then." Bulma stood and put her dishes in the sink. "I've got a ton of work to do for now, but I'd like to speak with you later on, if that's alright." This last part she said to Trunks who looked away and nodded. 

The both of us watched Bulma hurry off and we finished out breakfast in silence. Suddenly the front door slammed open and ChiChi rushed into the kitchen. 

"_There_ you are!" she huffed, leaning against the wall to catch her breath. "I've been looking _everywhere_ for you!" 

"What is it?" I asked, pushing away my half-eaten bagel. 

"Gokou just came in and ate _everything_ in the house before taking off to spar with that blasted Vegeta again! We have to go shopping! Now!" 

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "Fine, fine. We can go. But where's Gohan and . . . the kids?" 

Trunks raised his head at that but said nothing. 

"Gohan's joining Gokou in training." ChiChi muttered something else under her breath that sounded like a curse. "The children are in the hovercraft." 

My heart was pounding, palms sweating. The truth was so close to being blown that I could literally _feel_ it. "Ah, okay. You go on out and I'll be there in a moment." 

She nodded and turned to run back outside. The moment she was gone I gave a shaky smile. "We take care of a neighbor's kids sometimes." 

"Oh." Trunks shifted around in his seat. Taking that as a sign, I said a quick 'see you later' and bolted out the door. By Kami, Trunks could keep his mouth shut for two hours. Oh please Kami! 

Seconds later, I was roaring toward town, my heart still racing. What had I gotten myself into? 

*** 

The lavender-haired youth rested his elbows on the table and steepled his fingers. Every time he spoke to Ally, he grew more confused. She seemed nice, though the feeling he kept getting from her was strange. And what happened last night was even stranger. He had hoped the morning would give him clearer senses but it hadn't. 

He couldn't _feel_ Ally. It was as if she didn't actually exist. 

Sighing, the young man leaned his forehead on tanned fingertips. Later today. Maybe everything would be clearer later today . . . after he found someone to talk to . . . 

Glancing down the hallway, he checked on his hidden sword. Then he took off, flying away from Capsule Corporation. 

*** 

_I hate Mondays_, I thought wearily to myself, trailing behind ChiChi and trying to keep the two scurrying children within viewing range at the same time. Trilku's flame of black hair vanished around a corner in the marketplace and I quickly grabbed the collar of his little sister's jacket to keep her from doing the same. 

Hefting the three-year-old on my hip, I made sure I knew which direction ChiChi was heading before ducking around the same corner after my son. 

_Where is he . . .?_ Seeing the crowd, I ground my teeth and scouted the area for the seven-year-old. 

"There he is, Mama," Bapa pointed. I looked and caught sight of his "lil bad man" T-shirt right in front of a toy plane shop. I hurried through the crowd toward Trilku, bumping into another woman carrying a large bag of groceries. 

"Sorry!" I said when a sack of apples split open and tossed its contents on the ground. "Go get your brother," I told Bapa and bent to help the young woman. 

"You need to look where you're going," she muttered, not much emotion in her voice. 

"Guess so," I admitted, handing her the last apple as I straightened. I looked up into her face and felt my blood run cold. She was short, short as me and that was saying a lot. Yellow blonde hair hung past her shoulders and was pulled back in a loose ponytail, two strands framing her face. Dark, intense eyes stared at me and the strange thing was- I could sense the power radiating from this woman. From this android. Juuhachigou. Number Eighteen. 

"You're- You're-" 

"Do I know you?" she asked, frowning a little. 

I shook my head, backing away. "Time to go, children," I said to the kids and took each by the hand. "Sorry about the apples," I told the, uh, the- I told Juuhachigou. And then I melted back into the crowd. Once we put some distance between us and the woman, I turned to see her still gazing where I had vanished. A black-haired man walked over to her and they stood there for awhile, conversing in low tones. Then they both glanced around and vanished in the opposite direction. 

Feeling my legs threatening to give out beneath me, I quickly met up with ChiChi and spent the rest of the shopping trip in numb silence. Once my anime mother had dropped us three off at the house far up the mountain, lunchtime had already passed. I made the kids some hasty sandwiches and went upstairs to the bedroom. 

I found the tape where I had hidden it and popped it into the VCR. With the volume turned low enough it couldn't be heard downstairs, I watched as Mirai Trunks defeated the metal Frieza and King Cold, watched until he said goodbye and returned to the future, then shut it off. I leaned back against the foot of the bed, resting my head on the soft bedspread, and stared up at the ceiling. I didn't have an episode with Juuhachigou on it. But that woman . . . and the black-haired man with her . . . A normal woman couldn't possess that kind of power. It _had_ to be her. 

And if it was? 

My cover would be blown. 

I wondered why no one else had sensed her power- nor that of her brother, Juunanagou- then I realized that Androids couldn't be sensed. 

Then why could _I_? 

Sighing, I stood up and walked over to the computer Bulma had given us for Christmas a few years ago. I brought up the password-protected file and stared at the last part I'd written. 

_A few feet above the treetops, there was a flash and Vegeta raced into the sky again with me in his arms._

_"One day, woman, I will not catch you."_

_His dark eyes glittered and I laughed, twining my arms around his neck._

Starting there, I typed up everything that had happened since Kami had died. Trunks appearing. My plan. Seeing the twins that resembled Android Seventeen and Eighteen. By the end of it, I was shaking so bad I could hardly type so I quickly saved the file and cut the computer off. 

Was this another kind of test to see just how much I wanted my life here? I had been tested before so it wouldn't be any surprise. The walls were closing in around me and I felt like I was suffocating. Grasping the phone, I dialed Bulma's number. 

"Hello, Bulma? This is Ally." A pause. "No, no, I'm fine. I was wondering if you could get someone to come and bring the kids over to your place." I waited for her answer. "Well, I've just got something to do and need a babysitter. Yamucha'll come? Yeah, that's fine. Thanks, Bulma, I'll pick them up later on today. Bye." 

I hung up just before I felt hot anger swell up. Why was this happening to me?! Throwing open a window, I called Nimbus. The orange cloud appeared from the sky and bore me deep into the forest surrounding my home. 

My home. That's what this world was. It . . . belonged to me. Yes, belonged! And no matter what I did, it always seemed to try and slip through my fingers. 

I alighted in the middle of the trees and sent Nimbus away before balling my hands up into fists as my anger grew. Never had I felt so angry . . . so cheated . . . 

"Never!" I shouted into the sky, the word burning in me. "I will NEVER give up! I fought for this life and I will never let anyone take it away from me! You understand, anime world?! It's mine! It's mine!" 

The energy suddenly drained out of my body as quickly as it came, and I sank to the ground. "It's mine . . ." I sobbed. My hands cupped the area above my heart as I doubled over till my head rested on the warm grass. I felt as though my soul had been ripped apart and, in a way, it really had. 

***   
  


Oh dear! Another bad place to end... I'm writing! I'm writing! Sheesh.... ^_^ 


	7. the truth

Whew, ok, so all the upcoming chapters are majorly angst-filled!   
  


**Chapter 6**

I was sitting by Longshore Lake, a small collection of water nestled in the middle of the woods in the mountains. When I had first found it a few years ago, just after one of my largest fights with Vegeta, the endlessly tranquil water had worked to calm me. But this evening, the pain refused to let go of my heart. My tears had long since ran dry as I curled up on the bank. Things were crumbling down around me and for once, I had no idea what to do. 

I heard the crunch of someone landing behind me. It was Mirai Trunks; don't ask me how I knew that. I could actually feel his hesitation, an itch in my brain that wouldn't go away. 

"S-sorry, Ally," he said hastily. "I didn't think anyone would be here. I'll leave." 

"It's okay," I told him, standing and turning around. His eyes widened slightly, probably because my face was still red from crying. 

Trunks shifted uncomfortably, then gestured. "Would you like to take a walk with me?" 

"Okay." We reentered the woods, strolling side by side but not saying anything. Sunlight beams broke through the thick tree boughs above and dotted the soft grass. The song of different birds filled the sweet air and we paused as two squirrels crossed our path, chasing each other. 

"We never stop and appreciate the beauty around us," Trunks said softly as if to himself. 

I nodded, stuffing my hands in the front pockets of my jeans. "When I was little, I always used to walk barefoot and feel the grass between my toes. My m-mother would get mad at me for getting my feet dirty." I laughed softly at the memory and said musingly, "I'd love to walk barefoot again, though." 

"Why not now?" 

I jerked my head up and met his steady gaze. "If . . . you will with me." 

In answer, he bent and unlaced his boots, tugging off his socks along with them. I watched him, then did the same. We straightened, grinning at each other like two little kids. 

"Feels good," he admitted sheepishly. "There's not much grass where I come from." 

"Where _do_ you come from?" I asked quietly. The smile instantly vanished from his face. I regretted trying to force him into slipping up and telling me something. "You don't have to say anything," I added and felt guilty. Why must I be so cruel to this boy? Why did it have to be this way? 

He bit his thumb, troubled. "No, I want to tell you but-- but not now." 

"Whenever you're ready," I assured him, laying a comforting hand on his upper arm. Over the CC logo that reminded me again and again who this boy was. 

"Thank you," he breathed. Then his face brightened. "I know of this place near here. It's beautiful there! Would you like to go? I- I could show you." 

I scooped up my shoes. "I'd love to. Is it within walking distance?" 

"Uh-uh." He ran a hand through lavender bangs. "I could carry you. If you're comfortable flying, that is," he added hastily. 

"O-okay," I found myself replying. He stretched out a hand toward me and I stared at those tanned fingers, wondering what the heck I thought I was doing. _He's being nice_, I told myself, and placed my own small hand in his. He smiled and lifted off, pulling me into the air with him. The ground, the woods, gradually got farther and farther away and I realized we were heading toward the ocean. A tentative arm slid around my waist and I looked over at Trunks who, meeting no resistance, wrapped both arms around me. 

I should have said something; I know I should have. But I didn't. He was only being considerate. Dangling hundreds of feet above the ground by his hand wasn't exactly comfortable to begin with. 

We reached the ocean, still as the cloudless sky in the fading light. Trunks set me down gently by the water and I couldn't help but giggle a little. 

"What's so funny?" he inquired, an amused look on his face. 

I grinned. "The sand tickles." 

He glanced down and wiggled his toes in the white sand and laughed. "Yeah, it does." 

"You should laugh more often," I told him. "Your eyes light up when you do." I cursed myself when his smile faded like it had before. Why couldn't I leave well enough alone? "S-sorry." I crossed my arms protectively and climbed upon one of the huge boulders that led out into the salty spray. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Trunks follow me. 

"I didn't mean to upset you," he stated. 

"I'm not upset," I argued, watching the waves splash against the boulders. 

"You were crying earlier," he reminded me softly. 

_Oh, Trunks, you have no idea._ "You know," I said with a forced smile. "I just realized I don't even know your name." _Liar, liar_, my mind burned. 

He frowned at my change of subject. "I would tell you if I could, but I can't. Please understand." 

"I do," I sighed. 

Sliding his hands in his jacket pockets, Trunks leaned over carefully and peered into the dark depths of the ocean. Unable to resist his vulnerable position, I gave him a little shove. He cried out and grabbed my arm, sending us both tumbling into the sea. We surfaced as quickly as we could. Man, the water was cold! Trunks glared at me and I just stuck my tongue out at him. 

"That's what you get for being so secretive," I pouted. Seeing a strange look in his eyes, I tried to swim away. "Uh-uh, don't even think- ACK!" Trunks shoved my head underneath the freezing water and I came up again, sputtering, "Why you little-" 

We took turns trying to dunk each other, laugh and splashing. Grinning mischievously, Trunks dived beneath the water, disappearing from view. I searched for him, only to have my arms trapped at my sides as he grabbed me from behind and took us both under. I fought and kicked to reach the surface but Trunks held tightly, bringing us both up again long before my air ran out. 

"Do you trust me?" His voice vibrated near my ear. 

My heart thumped wildly in my head. I gulped and nodded. 

"Hold your breath," he whispered. I sucked in a deep gasp of air just as he immersed us again, taking me down, down, further down into the cold darkness. My lungs began to burn and I panicked, gesturing wildly to Trunks. I felt dizzy, my vision blurred by the stinging water. 

Suddenly I felt two firm hands touch either side of my face and cool lips were pressed against mine. I tried to push away but couldn't, as one of those hands held me still. A warm tongue forced its way in between my lips, parting them, and I uselessly fought again. Then Trunks exhaled slowly into my mouth, giving me oxygen, making my lungs fill, and the burning eased. He had only been helping me breathe . . . not . . . 

Trunks released me and pointed to the small opening of a cave directly below us. The entrance was just large enough for us to pass through and I frantically swam upwards once inside, breaking through to gulp fresh, cool air. Trunks laid a hand worriedly on my back. 

"Are you going to be all right?" 

I nodded, breathing easier now, and quickly swam over to the edge of the cave floor. Kicking, I pushed myself up to sit on the floor. I swung my legs up and a bit shakily placed my feet on the cold stone, standing. Behind me, I heard light splashes as Trunks did the same and then looked up at the cave. I gasped at the beatific scene before me, the faint pinkish and blue and green crystals, the calm, tingling glow that radiated from the water. 

"Is this what you wanted to show me?" I asked, taking a few more steps deeper into the weird light. "It's absolutely beautiful!" 

"I knew you'd like it." 

"How did you know it was here?" 

He came up beside me. "I come here a lot when I don't want to be found. You asked me why I didn't laugh more often . . . it's because there aren't many reasons to laugh where I live." 

"Where _do_ you live?" I asked in a quiet whisper. 

Trunks put his hands on my shoulders, turning me to face him. "Promise me you won't tell anyone." 

"I promise." Of course I did. Whatever Trunks told me, I already knew and had been keeping secret thus far. 

He studied my expression for a moment and took a great breath. "My name is Trunks. This will seem hard to believe, but, I come from the future." 

"The future?" I echoed. 

"Yes. Twenty years in the future. I can't tell you why I've come, only that I won't be able to stay much longer. The future, it's horrible! We live in fear every second of our lives! I feel so lost sometimes that I don't know what to do." His head lowered, hands clenched into fists at his sides. "I don't know why I'm telling you this, but I needed someone to understand." 

"T-Trunks," I choked, testing the word aloud on my lips. "I do understand. I do. I know what it's like to have everything snatched away. To feel out of place and lost, so lost." 

Trunks lifted his hands and cupped my face gently. He leaned forward until our foreheads touched and I felt like I was drowning in yet another sea of endless blue. 

"Ally, will you remember me?" 

I blinked, trying to move back but he held my steady. "W-why are you asking such a thing, Trunks?" 

"Please, I need to know . . . will you remember me?" 

I tried out a grin, the action feeling so false. "Of course I will, silly. Forever and always." He shuddered and a warm wetness fell lightly on my cheeks. "T-Trunks?" 

"Ally . . ." he whispered and tilted my face upwards, thumbs running along my cheekbones. His forehead again connected softly with mine and a million warnings flashed through my mind. I felt trapped, frozen, screaming, begging for something to happen that would break this binding spell that had somehow been cast over me. I shut my eyes and suddenly a small whimper welled up from inside me and escaped. Trunks pulled away, blue eyes glowing with emotions I didn't need to see. 

"No . . . please . . . Trunks, stop . . ." 

He fixed me with a confused look, hurt filling his eyes. "Ally-" 

"I- I can't," I faltered. "Oh Kami!" I turned away, hiding my face. This was wrong! Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! I fell to my knees, head spinning, my cheeks burning. "Trunks, I can't." 

"I understand." Before I could say anything else, he scooped me into his arms and we reached the surface in seconds. During the flight back to Bulma's, neither of us spoke. I didn't want to talk about what had almost happened. What _could_ have happened. I wanted to forget all about it. 

Our clothes and hair had dried enough by the time we got back, though I was sure I looked horrible. The sight of Gokou, Gohan, Vegeta, and Piccolo sparing near Capsule Corporation greeted us and I inwardly groaned as Vegeta leveled his best glare on Trunks. 

_You_, the glare said. _Have something that belongs to me_. 

Trunks was oblivious to it all. He didn't know about Vegeta and I. But he seemed to sense something because he set me down and stepped aside. 

"You missed dinner," Vegeta said heatedly. He took a step closer, halted, and his dark eyes narrowed. The others didn't realize what Vegeta had just done but I did. He had done it often: taking a step closer and sniffing the air. He _smelled_ Trunks on me. 

"It's my fault," Trunks spoke up. "We were talking and I lost track of the time." He was being polite and returned Vegeta's penetrating gaze evenly. 

"Come on, Vegeta," Gokou said pleasantly. "She can have some leftovers." 

"Shut up, Kakarrot," Vegeta snapped. "This isn't about food. Ally, you said you were going to train with us." 

"Train?" Trunks echoed, glancing at me. 

Vegeta moved forward. "We are leaving," he said and grabbed my arm. 

Gaze turning hard, Trunks put himself between me and Vegeta. "Let go of her," he said in a low voice. 

Vegeta threw him a look of pure murder. "You've overstepped your boundaries, boy," he growled with a mountain of anger. He knew. He could tell. Kami, please . . . 

"And you've overstepped yours," Trunks countered. 

"I'm warning you, boy," Vegeta said venomously, tightening his hold on me. Unprepared for the possessive action, I cried out. 

That did it. 

Trunks shoved Vegeta away from me, anger lighting up his blue eyes. "You have no integrity!" 

"How _dare_ you!" Vegeta hissed. "Ally is mine, _boy_, step aside." 

Trunks responded by planting himself firmly in front of me. "She's not a possession, a thing. She's real and alive. You can't just yell at her." 

"Trunks," I pleaded. "Please. It's okay, really." 

"No, it's not," he said, shaking his head. "You don't deserve to be yelled at." He turned back to Vegeta. "I'm not moving." 

I saw too late. 

Vegeta's eyes flushed emerald. He swung his fist back and socked Trunks solidly. Trunks stumbled to the side and then the older Saiyajin was on him, flaring fully to Super Saiyajin. I've seen Vegeta mad. I've seen Vegeta torn by anger. But I had never seen Vegeta in a rage, a rage which caused him to pound mercilessly into Trunks, who was forced to turn Super Saiyajin himself. 

The transformation took us all by surprise, even me who knew Trunks could go Super Saiyajin already. The others stared in shock at Trunks' stiff, golden hair and blazing green eyes. 

"You will not hurt Ally," Trunks said in a dangerous voice. 

"Stop, please," I begged again. I ran up to Vegeta and grabbed his arm, hissing when my hand got burned just before he brought his shield crashing down. "Stop it, Vegeta!" I screamed at him above the roar of two thundering auras. "Just stop it, damn you! You-- YOU CAN'T HURT YOUR OWN SON!" 

All the shouting, everything, died away and everyone's eyes switched back and forth between me and Vegeta and Trunks. Trunks had a twist of horror upon his face. Vegeta looked like he couldn't decide whether to laugh or take me seriously. Just then I realized what I'd said and paled. 

"How- how did you know that?" stammered Trunks. "How can you possibly know that?" 

"Kami, it's true?!" barked Vegeta. "How did you ever manage to have another brat without me knowing?" He jutted a thumb at Trunks. "This one looks like that Bulma woman." 

My breath hitched in my chest and refused to function. "That's . . . that's because Bulma is his mother . . ." A gasp ran up through the small crowd. Shaking, I hid my face in my hands. It was out then. All the truth was out. 

"What the . . . what the _hell_ . . ?" I heard Vegeta murmur. 

"You _lied_ to me?" Trunks demanded, voice rising shrilly. "Ally, the two kids are yours, aren't they?" When I didn't answer, he repeated, "_AREN'T THEY?!_" 

"Yes," I answered softly. "They're mine and Vegeta's. We've been married for over six years now." 

"_Six?_! But how? You're only--" 

"Older than I look," I finished for him, staring at the ground. "I wished on the Dragonballs to age as slow as a Saiyajin. It's complicated." 

"You _lied_ to me," Trunks bit out again. 

"Yes." No way I could deny it anymore. I felt sick. I felt like throwing up. I needed to throw up. 

Gokou took a hesitant step forward. "Um, can someone explain what's going on?" 

I sighed wearily. "Come over to my house and I will explain. Contact all the others, please. They'll need to hear this too." Not looking up, I called for Nimbus and took off home. 

***   
  


Finally! The truth is out! I've waited for this day for... oh, a few years. Haha ^_^ Thank for being so patient... *looks around and gets boos and dodges cans* Ok, so NO ONE'S patient! I'm hurrying, I promise! 


	8. lies and pain

Wow! It's only been a few weeks since I posted the last chapter! I'm really on a role, aren't I? ^_^ hehe   
  


Anyways, Vegeta a bit... er, strange in this chapter, so don't kill me, kay? ::sweatdrop:: And there's TONS of angst, angst, oh, and angst!   
  
  
  


**Chapter 7**   
  


I'd screwed up royally. 

I walked into the small house and found the tape where I had hidden it. I also printed out my journal, the one that I had kept since Vegeta and I married . . . the one that began with the words, "_The first thing I saw when my eyes fluttered open was a blur of blackness . . ._" How very long ago. How stupid and naive I'd been. 

I hadn't changed much. 

By the time I reentered the living room, most everyone was crowded in there: Gokou, Gohan, Piccolo, Bulma and her family and Krillin. And Vegeta, scowling, with our children. Even Trunks was there, looking tired. I asked them all to sit down where they could. Beseeched them to keep silent until the tape was over. Then I leaned over and pushed the play button. 

The episodes played through, the ones where Trunks first came to warn the Z-fighters about the Androids. I saw all their eyes widen with surprise and confusion. I saw my best friend with his face intent and dark. I saw Trunks pull out a small vial from his jacket pocket and stare dumbly down at it. But most of all, I saw Vegeta, face stony and blank. 

When the video ended, I turned off the television and faced them. "In the riaru world," I said quietly. "_This_ world is only a figment of someone's imagination. He created you, gave all of you life, and turned you into a form of entertainment. I used to be a huge fan of the show; Shenlong knew this when he brought me here. I- I knew all of your futures and I realized I was changing them just by being here." 

I fiddled with the papers in my hands. "There's something else you should know. I thought the Androids didn't exist. But they do. They're both still alive and living nearby here. I- I met Juuhachigou at the marketplace earlier today. She doesn't seem to be of any threat. She hasn't tried to destroy the world. But . . . I thought you should know." As humbly as I could, I handed a stack of papers to Bulma. "You can read everything that was supposed to happen in here and the possibilities on why things changed so much." 

For the longest, I stared down at the floor, feeling everyone hold their breath as they took it all in. A chair scrapped loudly across the floor and I jerked my head up just in time to see Vegeta's retreating back. A quick glance around the room told me Trunks had already fled long ago. To find Juuachigou, probably. I couldn't have stopped him anyway. 

I shouldn't have followed Vegeta. I _know_ I shouldn't have. And yet I scrambled to my feet, his name coming out as a choked noise. 

"Mama, don't you love Daddy anymore?" 

I looked down at my daughter, pools of innocent blue--just like my riaru mother--shimmerred expectantly. Not able to answer, I brushed past her and her brother. I could hear Krillin calling me back but I pretended I hadn't heard him or the others. I ran panicky out the front door and caught Vegeta just as he was about to take off. 

"Vegeta!" 

He froze, the tenseness in his muscular shoulders hinting at his retrained anger. I knew his power, perhaps better than anyone, and yet I disregarded the warning signals and approached the Saiyajin Prince. 

"Vegeta . . ." I said again. His name sounded monotonous now, having repeated it too many times. 

"Why?" 

For a moment, I couldn't answer. Then I whispered, "I was afraid of losing you." 

"Why?" he demanded again. His hand sliced violently through the air. "Because you thought I would drop you and suddenly fall for the Bulma woman? Did you really believe I was that without honor?" 

"No, no," I said desperately. "Of course not! I- I could never-" 

"But you _did_ think so," he interrupted, dark eyes full of malice. When I couldn't answer, he spun away and stalked further into the forest. I followed. This couldn't be happening. I had to be dreaming. _I'm dreaming!_

"You've not dreaming," Vegeta stated without turning around. I jumped back reflexively when he stopped. "Ally . . ." In a brief second I saw a sort of longing flash across those midnight-mirroring eyes and then the cold hardness quickly snuffed it out. 

"You," he stated heatedly. "Are a liar." 

I thought to protest but instead lowered my pained gaze. "So are you, Vegeta," I told him sadly. "You told me you would love me until death." 

Vegeta snarled at me, a vicious, animalistic snarl. I stumbled back a little when he appeared in front of me, grabbing my upper arms much like he had once more than ten anime years ago. He shook me, hard, the nails of his ungloved fists digging into the tender skin. 

"Vegeta," I whimpered. "Stop. You're h-hurting me." 

Shaking me again, my head snapping back painfully, he growled, "I do not know you." 

Despite my better judgement, I let out a dry chortle. A swoosh of misplaced air and Vegeta's right hand drew to backhand me. My eyes slid close. 

"Go ahead," I whispered, expecting him to just growl some more and move away. I knew the force of his hand would be enough to take my head right off if he used full strength. At his silence, I felt a knot of fear settle in my throat but pushed it down. Vegeta would never . . . 

The sound of skin against skin broke the wooded silence. My head jerked roughly to the side, blood spurting from cracked skin. I raised up, hazy with fresh pain, to stare at Vegeta whose steel grip on my shoulders had prevented me from tumbling to the ground. 

_He hit me. He hit me!_

Tears welled up in my green eyes, stinging when the saltiness ran into my split cheek. My arms were suddenly freed, my shoulders nearly dislocated as he shoved me back. I couldn't tell what was going on. Someone was shouting. Vegeta let out a harsh laugh that he hadn't actually broken my jaw. Thank Kami. My vision was leaking black around the edges but I felt a hand slid under mine and the bite of something metal being pressed forcibly into my palm. 

And then Vegeta was gone. The wind would have blown me off my feet if not for a steady hand on my shoulder. I craned my neck up to see who it was, shuddering at the pain. I blinked away the frightening darkness. 

"Gokou? I-" Then I felt the metal in my hand and turned to stare dumbly at it. Vegeta's ring. His wedding ring. I- I hadn't even known he carried it with him. "Vegeta," I mumbled and the hand on my shoulder tensed. 

I tightened my fist, the ring digging into my skin. Vegeta . . . Vegeta . . . Vegeta . . . Vegeta! I broke away from Gokou, almost immediately collapsing on the ground. I hardly noticed when my anime father picked me up. Nor when others swarmed around me. 

I didn't heed the bright blood trickling from my tightly clenched fist. 

I felt nothing. 

And I didn't care.   
  


***   
  


It was really too short but I had to cut it there to get the next rather EXTREME chapter put all together. Trust me, you'll like what's coming up! ^_^ 


	9. life-long dream

Whoa. I didn't realize everyone would respond like they did to what happened in Chapter 7... Gomen, I guess it _was_ a tad violent, ne? ^_^ I won't try to explain why I had Vegeta do what he did... or why Ally did for that matter... just yet. I'm going to have a special section AFTER the fanfic is finished, to explain and clean up some loose ends.****   
  


**Chapter 8**

Somewhere amid all the confusion, I must have lost consciousness because the next thing I knew, I was waking up in Gokou and ChiChi's house. I just let myself lay there, remembering how I had done the same in this very room after Piccolo saved my life. After he spared some of his own lifeforce into me so that I may remain with them in the anime world and not die. 

"I wasn't worth it," I mumbled aloud. 

"I would not have done it if you hadn't been," was the gruff answer. I opened my eyes and found Piccolo sitting by the bed, looking cramped in the tiny room, relieved, and angry all at the same time. 

Emerald swirled up to stare at the ceiling. "Maybe it was a mistake," I said softly. 

Silence. Then the swish of white cloth as the Namekian got to his feet. "Do not think me asinine," he barked. 

My eyes widened and I quickly sat up, fighting down dizziness. I grasped one of his rough green hands in both of my own. He stopped and looked down at me and I hesitated under that cold gaze. 

"Piccolo . . . all I've ever been is self-serving. During the Frieza battle and in riaru and now with Trunks . . . all I've done is save my own worthless hide. I- I've lied and cheated and manipulated all of you. If I could take it back, I'd have told you not to save my life." 

I released his hand and slumped over my knees. "I've made such a mess of things, haven't I, Piccolo?" The mattress dipped as he sat down beside me. He seemed to waver, then splayed the long-nailed fingers of one hand across my back and gently pulled me down until my head rested in his lap. I let myself curl up against this rare comforter, listening to his steady breathing and then the rumble in his broad chest as he spoke. 

"I would have saved your life even so." 

"Thank you," I whispered. "You . . . you knew all alone, didn't you?" 

"Only some," he acknowledged. "The conniving Eternal Dragon knew the whole time, so Kami had an inkling that there was more to the picture than you were letting on, kid." 

I shifted a little, twining my arms around him as far as they could reach. "He tried to warn me," I said, remembering Kami's last words. "He told me that I had forgotten something and that a purple haze was coming. I thought it was just one big riddle until Trunks appeared. When I saw him . . . Kami, I thought he'd tell Gokou who he was, you'd overhear, and the whole thing would be out. Right now everyone hates me and I don't know what to do! I'm so sorry, Piccolo, I am!" 

"I know that and so do the others." Piccolo clasped my shoulders and raised me up to meet his eyes. "But the boy and that damned Prince _don't_ know that and you've got to tell them. Having two emotionally-torn Super Saiyajins running around isn't the best thing for the planet to go through." 

I sighed, carefully touching my cheek. "You're right. But I- I need to think for a while. Okay? By myself." 

"Sure, kid." He surprised me by wrapping his great arms around me and squeezing lightly. I smiled through glassy eyes as he stood. He paused by the doorway. "You've caused us a hell of a lot of trouble, Ally, and I know for certain that you'll end up causing us more." Those dark eyes softened and the lines of harshness on his face seemed to smooth. Then Piccolo left the room, leaving me alone. 

I blinked, confused as to what had just happened, and quickly shrugged it off. I found my shoes on the floor and slipped them on. Not wanting to go downstairs where the others might be, I quietly slipped out the window and plopped to the ground. 

I walked forever; I don't know how long. It felt like forever, but then one second can feel like forever once you realized you probably lost everything worth living for. And I had. For one brief moment, I wished I was back in riaru. Safe, normal riaru. I wished none of this insane Dragon Ball Z mess had ever happened. 

And then I remembered my daughter's simple question. 

_"Mama, don't you love Daddy anymore?"_

I wanted to lie. But I couldn't. Yes, I still did. 

I raised a hand to again touch the place on my cheek where he had hit me, then stared at the second ring on my finger, Vegeta's ring . . . What was I supposed to do now? Go home? I didn't know where my home _was_ anymore. 

My eyes blurred beyond seeing anything. I wanted to feel life. I needed to know I was alive! The ankle-deep grass felt warm beneath my bare feet as I stripped off my shoes and long-sleeved shirt. Then I was running through the forest toward nothing. My feet took me where they wanted to go and I just ran, ran for a long time. 

Breathing heavily, I stopped just before the edge of a vast cliff. The world spun way too far below. I was standing on the same cliff the Eternal Dragon had set me upon months ago when he had shown me what I'd been given in the anime world. A fierce wind pulled the end of my braid from its confines and sucked the sparkles from my eyes. It tugged on the tanktop and baggy pants I wore as if beckoning to me. I remembered jumping from this very cliff with all the confidence of being caught. 

I imaged myself jumping once again, thin air caressing me from all angles. Falling through space. Falling amidst clouds. Falling because no one was there. 

_I'll always be there when you fall!_

Such empty words. _Where are you now, Krillin?_ I wondered. 

I sank to the cold stone and buried my face in the rough fabric of my pants. I was such a fool. If what Piccolo had said was true, then the others had already forgiven me. I should be trying to find Trunks and Vegeta. 

Vegeta . . . 

A sob lynched out of my throat and I wanted to bury myself in misery. 

*** 

"Greetings, Piccolo." The young Namekian smiled warmly, turning to face the former Demon King. Piccolo alighted on the smooth, marble-like flooring and fixed a stony gaze upon the new Kami, Dende. 

The small god had arrived just moments after Piccolo and Kami fused, with the help of Gokou, and had been given a briefing on what all happened since Namek. Quite a shock, but Dende had only nodded and, under the guidance of Mr. Popo, went straight to work watching as he should for the past few days. 

When Piccolo didn't say anything for a while, Dende clasped his little hands behind his back and peered down at the Earth so very far below. "Quite a surprise, wasn't it?" he inquired, lofty voice aglow with humor. Piccolo only grunted and drew another soft smile from the child. "Ah, Piccolo, it wasn't for me either. I knew, you see, I knew from the very beginning." Dende actually laughed out loud at the startled look on the other Namekian's face. "She told me herself when she was brought to Guru's house way back when on dear planet Namek." 

"You know this whole time?" Piccolo restated, the gruffness in his voice sounding his anger. "Why didn't you ever tell us?" 

Dende's eyes grew sad. "Ally made me promise not to and can you blame her? The thought that all of this, all of us, are mere animations would seem ludicrous." The child swept a hand through the air, spinning around to indicate their surroundings. 

"It _is_ ludicrous," Piccolo grumbled. 

"See?" Dende nodded. He walked over to the edge of the Lookout, leaning over a thin rail to stare at the bubbling world below. "Ally was afraid we would not believe her had she said anything. So she kept it all secret, only telling me a fraction of the truth for the sake of _someone_ knowing." He turned up sorrowful eyes. "You know what she told me? She said 'I know more than any of you could imagine.'" 

Silence flowed between them, thick and heavy despite the sparse atmosphere. Almost musingly, Dende rested his elbows on the railing and set his chin on upturned palms. "When Trunks appeared, she didn't know how to handle it except to lie. She kept it secret and kept it secret and kept it secret until she couldn't anymore. It was wrong, of course. But, Piccolo, would anyone have actually believe her without proof?" 

Cloth rustled as Piccolo crossed muscular arms over his chest and bowed his head. "No," he said at length. 

"Exactly. Every future has many different possibilities, and one is not greater than another." Dende's eyes smiled and he let out another tinkling laugh. "But come, Piccolo, there is time for philosophy later. Something interesting is brewing below." 

Piccolo snorted. "You are just like Kami was. Spying on people." 

"Thank you," the child grinned. "I was actually hoping you would teach me how to be god. I haven't any experience, you see." 

The older Namekian cursed under his breath. "I knew this was coming. Fine, fine. I accept. But don't expect me to play nursemaid and end up ruling the world myself." 

"Of course not," Dende admonished. "And later I will resurrect the Eternal Dragon as well. For now, though, let us watch the show . . ." 

The pair settled in mutual agreement and turned their eyes upon the Earth. 

*** 

I seemed to have risen to my feet without knowing because I found myself peering down at the world so very far below. My fingers were curled up underneath my chin in a silent prayer. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore. 

But yet . . . But yet I _had_ to know. Would anyone be there this time? The sky felt like it was gathering around me, building like a song building its climax. 

And so I pitched myself from the cliff. 

I fell for what seemed like forever. The clouds rushed by me; the air screamed silently by my ears; tears were jerked from my eyes at the growing speed. 

_One day, woman, I will not catch you._

My braid loosened; the tie broke and layers upon layers of brown silkiness billowed behind me. I watched as the ground sped closer, closer, closer, and closer. The green, green tops of the swaying trees should not have been so near to me. I was falling. Alone. And no one would catch me. 

I could pick out the birds in the trees now. The animals crawling on the sharp rocks. I could see them look up and wonder why a stupid human girl was up so far in the air. Still, I fell. And I wept, because the thin air made me. 

I threw out my arms and squeezed my eyes shut. I was going to die. I knew it. 

I was going to die. 

*** 

I sat up in bed, shoulder-length hair falling across my shoulders in a rush. A light sweat sheen covered my body and caused the pajamas I wore to stick to my skin. Breathing heavily, I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and froze. 

And looked around the bedroom. 

I stared into the mirror etched on door and clapped a hand over my mouth to stifle the scream. 

I shouldn't have been so startled. I mean, it's not like my riaru body was horrifying. A little deficient when compared to my anime form, yes. But not enough to make me panic. What did, however, cause a sudden nausea to overwhelm me was the fact that _I was in my old riaru bedroom._

Faintly, I heard a beeping noise coming from behind me. I turned and spied my alarm clock announcing that it was 7:30 am, the time I had always gotten up for school. But that alarm clock hadn't been used in years. My bed hadn't been used in years and yet the rumple mess of sheets spoke differently. 

The front of my hair was pulled up into two clips, the way it always had been before. Papers lay scattered on the floor, as they'd been just before Shenlong had whisked me away to anime land. My alarm clock was going off like I still went to school; I silenced it with a slap of my hand. 

Then the stack of videos by my television caught my eye. I stepped over to them, running my fingers lightly over the labels intently, searching, praying. 

_Please, Kami, don't let there be-_

My thumb and finger grasped the tape I found and jerked it from underneath the stack. Videos toppled to the ground but I ignored them. I read the label again and again and again, blinking profusely, digging my knuckles into my eyes and then reading again. 

Android Saga: episodes 118-121. 

This tape shouldn't be here. _I _shouldn't be here. It was as if nothing had ever changed. 

A dream. It had all been a dream.   
  


****   
  


_Another_ baaaad place to end! Ech, unfortunately for you I'm getting good at these cliffhangers. But at least the chapters are coming quicker, ne? ^_^ 


	10. final choice

You people were all so nice with your reviews that I decided to go ahead and post this chapter. ^_^ It's a bit short but it had to be that way.... The next chapter will take much longer than a few days for me to get out because it's not quite finished yet. ^_^ So... here ya go...   
  


***   
  


**Chapter 9**

A dream. It had all been a dream. 

I couldn't believe it. I- I- I- 

There were no trinkets this time. No necklace from Piccolo. No bottle from Vegeta. Nothing that could prove that I had actually experienced what I had experienced. 

Imagine living for ten years. Then imagine waking up to find those ten years never existed. That's how I felt now. That's why I was shaking so badly and had to crumple to the floor. That's why my vision blurred and my body quivered with dry sobs. 

That's why I couldn't remember my full anime name. 

Even now, my memories of that place were fading. Like a dream faded. My name had been . . . 'A'- something or other. With 'Vegeta' at the end because I had married him . . . hadn't I? And I had two kids: Ba- Ba- Bapa and Tri . . . Tri . . . Tril . . . damn. 

I couldn't remember. 

I couldn't remember. 

All a dream and I couldn't remember. 

_"Remember why you stayed. Remember what you changed and brought forth. Only you can heal the wounds that will come and make another decision. What you do could change it all. Remember . . . what . . . you . . . forgot."_

Only I could . . . 

I stood and straightened my back. _My name is Ally sei Vegeta. I remember! True memories don't fade! _My hands balled into fists. "No . . ." I whispered aloud. "No, Kami, no! I- I won't believe this is real!" I shut my eyes and lowered my head. "This isn't real. This isn't real!" I told myself over and over. "This isn't real! Stop it! Stop it, _Shenlong!_" 

A roaring filled my ears, a harsh, thundering roaring that seemed to both tear my soul apart and fill my entire being all at the same time. I felt like I was once again submerged in the ocean, foaming around me violently and roaring. A sudden weight pressed into me at all sides like the pressure in the room had suddenly zoomed to an uncontrolled height. 

And then I was floating. 

Darkness was everywhere. Cold, cold emptiness. I couldn't see my body; I didn't even know if I had a body except for long tresses of dark brown hair lightly ghosting over my calves. I was naked, I could tell, and I crossed arms I couldn't see over my bare chest to try and provide some sort of comfort. 

Where- where was I? 

What- _what_ was I . . ? 

A warmness, both delicate and frightening, touched my face and I let my eyes flutter open to bathe in an emerald light that accompanied the warmth. 

"Who- who's there?" My quivering voice bounced around the darkness ethereally. I wound my arms tighter together, feeling too vulnerable and too small in the vast, empty area. At first I had thought I was in the Gateway . . . but this darkness was unlike anything that had been in that bridge between worlds. And this disturbing emerald light . . . 

"Please . . ." I tested my voice out again, detesting the way it echoed. "Is someone there? S-Shenlong?" 

"Clever child," came the amused reply from the darkness. "You guessed correct." 

"It _is_ you!" I breathed, spinning around to try and see the endlessly-long body of the Eternal Dragon. "Shenlong, what is going on? I- I dreamed that I . . . had a dream," I finished pathetically. 

"Alicia, you were not dreaming." 

"Not dreaming?" I restated, ignoring that he'd called me by my riaru name. "What do you mean? Stop playing games with me, Shenlong. What is _going on_?" 

I heard his gigantic sigh vibrate through the space. "Your life in anime . . . has all been a dream. You never ventured to Namek; you never met the others. You never did any of those things." 

"You're lying," was what popped out of my mouth, forced because my throat had suddenly closed up. "Take me back to anime and you'll see that you're wrong!" 

There was a pause. If I could have seen Shenlong, he probably would have done the dragon equivalent of a shrug. "As you wish." 

I was wrenched away from the emerald light, sucked in the opposite direction. I tumbled through midnight and a cry strangled its way out of my mouth. Then suddenly I was kneeling in the woods outside Capsule Corporation. My hand was a mass of shadow and blurred color when I lifted it up as if I had no form, as if I were neither anime nor riaru. Slowly rising, I caught sight of the curved dome of Capsule Corp. Someone was walking toward the front door. Someone dressed in bright blue with a flame of black hair. 

_Vegeta_. 

"Vegeta!" I shouted, moving toward him. He seemed to sense something, stopped, and half-turned toward the woods. "Vegeta! It's me! Ally!" I stretched out my hand, running, and suddenly an invisible . . . wind . . . curved around me and stopped me from reaching Vegeta. I struggled uselessly against that relentless stronghold. "Wait, Vegeta!" But the Saiyajin had turned back around and stepped into Capsule Corporation. 

"Let go of me!" I demanded and the wind did let go. I sprinted to the building and tried to grasp the handle. My shadow hand went right through it. "What the-" Taking a deep breath, I stepped through the front door. 

Vegeta was just entering the kitchen where Bulma and . . . 

I recoiled. It- It just wasn't true. It _couldn't_ be true! 

"Do you see now?" came Shenlong's voice gently. "You do not exist to them." 

"It's not true," I whispered, but the scene was real before me. Vegeta scooped up a miniature version of Bulma into his arms and sat down at the table beside a young, lavender-haired boy. 

I slumped wearily against the invisible presence behind me. "Take me away from here." 

"Alicia . . ." 

"I said take me away!" 

"As you wish," the dragon uttered again and blackness consumed my vision. 

When I awoke, green scales were beneath my fingertips. I slowly sat up and looked into the giant face of Shenlong. Then I hung my head, feeling saltiness sting my eyes. 

"It _was_ all a dream . . ." I muttered. 

The heated skin beneath me shifted as the Eternal Dragon took a breath. "Yes . . . and no . . ." I jerked my head up to meet his piercing gaze. My mouth opened, closed, opened, then snapped close as I waited for him to explain. "It does not have to remain a dream," he finally added. The length of his body rippled and I was lifted higher until I reached the same emerald glow I had seen before. "You have to make a decision, young one." 

"Screw decisions," I spat bitterly, turning my head so I didn't have to stare into that terrible, jade brightness. "Is this the same game you pulled before, Shenlong? Well, I'm tired of playing with you and I refuse to go through this again." 

"And you would give up anime?" he asked softly. 

_"I'll never give up! You hear me??! NEVER!"_

I shook my head fiercely. "Never." 

"Then all you must do is step into the green light." 

"And- and it'll take me back . . . home?" I got to my knees and peered over into the swirling light. "With Vegeta and all the others?" 

"Yes. Just as before." 

"I don't understand," I said, puzzled. "How can that be true if it was all a dream?" 

"Your dream can become a reality, young one. Step into the green light and the anime world will be shaped to suit your wants. You can have it any way you wish, Ally, anything." 

"My wants . . ." I echoed. 

_"It's mine! It's mine!"_

I can have my dream! Yes! My dream! 

"Yes . . ." I mumbled. I straightened, wavering on the Eternal Dragon's scaly hide. A warmth suddenly traveled up my legs and arms, and poured into my mouth. When it vanished as quickly as it had came, I was once again in my anime form, long hair catching in a violent wind that protruded from the emerald portal. Unsure, I glanced back at Shenlong. "Just walk into it?" I rechecked and the god nodded. 

_I can do this,_ I told myself. _This is what I want. This is what I deserve!_ _After everything I've been through. After everything I've suffered!_

I stepped up to the portal, so close I could feel its warming chill. 

_"Do you think I'm destined for something great, Mom?"_

_"Of course, honey. You're a smart girl."_

_"That's not what I meant. I want to make a difference, but how can I? I'm just one out of millions of stars."_

One out of millions. 

I was just one person. Just one person who wanted to live this dream. 

I- I had no right. 

And so I made my decision . . . 

I sucked in a great breath and stepped away from the emerald portal. I faintly heard Shenlong's questioning response but I ignored it. Heels barely touching the edge of his vast body, I spread my arms- 

_/gokou/chichi/gohan/krillin/piccolo/my children/VEGETA!/_

-and let myself fall backward. 

I fell off Shenlong as if in slow motion and the darkness everywhere claimed me once again. 

*** 


	11. forgiveness

Let me tell you that I have NO idea where this chapter came from.... Sorry it took so long but I wanted to get it perfect for you guys. ^_^ I hope you enjoy it... More notes after the chapter.   
  
  
  


**Chapter 10**

"Oof!" 

I sprawled out in a heap, arms and legs flaying about until my senses distinguished up from down. Coughing puffs of disturbed dust, I pushed myself into a sitting position and gingerly opened my eyes. 

My large, emerald, _anime_ eyes. 

But- but how- 

I raised my hands in front of me and stared at the two golden rings. I was back in anime! Had- had it all been another dream? 

"Shenlong?" I called tentatively. 

A moment passed, long enough for me to feel foolish. I must have fallen asleep here on this high cliff. But then- 

"Forgive me, Ally, for putting you through what I did." 

I got to my feet and faced the area of empty air I judged to be about where the Eternal Dragon's voice was coming from. Anger bubbled in my system but I shoved it away. Everything was growing clearer now in my head. "You only did what you had to do," I said a bit stiffly. 

"Ah, yes," the dragon mused. "So you finally understand . . ." 

I heaved a slight sigh. "Everyone's been trying to tell me the same thing since the very beginning and it takes me over ten years to finally get it." Laying fists on my hips, I shook my head. "I kept thinking that _I_ screwed things up by being here and that it was all my fault. But in reality, things happened the way they were supposed to happen even without my help. I just wish I had figured this out sooner and stopped trying to hide everything." 

"There are many different possibilities to the future, young one," Shenlong stated. "What you learned in riaru was only one. Making certain decisions created more. I am curious about one thing however; What made you decide to chose riaru instead?" 

I thought for a moment. "When you told me I could shape anime the way I wanted it. I never, ever wanted that kind of power and not one person _should_ ever have it. I think, many times, I've been afraid that's what I was doing here- changing things for myself. It was wrong of me to believe I was the focal point like that." 

"I am glad you now know different," the dragon murmured. 

"So am I," I breathed. "So am I." An eyebrow arched and I crossed my arms. "You sure picked a heck of a way to show me though." 

Shenlong chuckled. "My pleasure. And now I must return to being . . . nonexistent at this present time. One more query before I pass: How will you heal the damage already done?" 

"Good question," I muttered. "With Trunks, I just don't know. With Vegeta . . ." A sharp pain hit my chest at the thought. "I know I deserve any harsh treatment from him. If he was here now, I'd tell him how sorry I am and that- that I still love him dearly." I managed a sad smile. "He probably wouldn't listen, would he? But I'd tell him anyway. Then I'd scream it some more as he flew away. And then I'd tell myself once again that I really need to learn how to fly." I was rambling, I knew it. But the very idea of confronting Vegeta was making me giddy and I wrung my hands nervously. "What do you think I should do?" 

No answer came from the skies. "Shenlong?" 

I heard a faint whisper in my head. "Farewell until the future, Ally sei Vegeta." And I was alone on that high cliff. 

I hugged my arms tighter around my scantily-clad shoulders, wishing I had thought to keep my longer shirt and my shoes. 

There was a tingle inside me. Something I felt every so often. Something only a bond could produce. _Go to her, go to her! _ I heard it a split second before my own senses told me-__

_Behind you._

I spun around and my heart constricted. Vegeta stood at the very edge of the trees, eyes two glittering dots in the overcast shadows. His face looked haggard and far too old; his knuckles white with tension. 

My gaze widened. "How- how long have you been there?" I forced out. 

"As long as you have," was the gruff answer. "I saw everything. I . . . heard everything." 

"You d-did . . ?" I stammered. 

"I do not just say something to hear myself say it," Vegeta snapped and then he wrenched his eyes away to glare at the ground. "Why do you always question-" He stopped, seemed to struggle with the words. "Woman, I-" He cut himself off again and made a grimace. 

I took a few timid steps toward him but flinched back when those dark eyes alighted on me. He was in front of me before I could take another breath, lifting a hand to touch my cheek. I bit my lip. Even barely touching the bruise hurt badly. Vegeta jerked his hand away. 

"I hurt you," he growled. "Your wrist, your hand, your cheek. Ally, what will be next?" 

"I'm not a weakling," I said quietly. Vegeta turned away from me, shoulders hunched and muscles knotted. "Don't you think I knew what I was getting into a long time ago?" 

"How can you forgive me for that?" he asked angrily. 

"How can you forgive me for lying to you?" I countered. 

His shoulders drooped and he half-twisted to look at me. "I want to." 

"So do I. And I do." 

"So do I." 

We both seemed to breathe a bit easier after those vague confessions. Vegeta stared at me a moment and then made a movement to take off again. Before he could leave, I tackled him from behind and squeezed him as hard as I could. 

"Ally-" Vegeta grabbed my arm and swung me around in front of him. I found myself suspended just above the ground by one of his hands splayed across my back, the other hand catching my right one. "You have something that belongs to me." 

"Me?" I questioned, barely keeping a smile from forming. 

"That too," he agreed. "But . . ." Taking two of his fingers, he gently slid his wedding band off my ring finger and placed the golden trinket back on his own left one. Vegeta buried his nose in the curve of my neck and breathed in deeply. "Mine," he declared. 

Grinning, I strained upward and pressed my face to his own body. "Mine," I claimed. We stayed like that forever, touching as much as we could touch of each other. I could feel his pulse gradually slow beneath my fingertips and I removed my lips from his skin long enough to breath, "I need to find Trunks." 

Vegeta tensed, releasing me so we could straighten up. "What for?" 

"What for?" I echoed. "Vegeta, I- I was horrible to him!" 

"So he'll get over it." 

"Vegeta!" 

"Woman, I know you want to go talk to him so why are you still here bothering me? Go on already!" 

I puffed indignantly, blowing my bangs from my eyes. "Fine then," I said angrily. I turned on my heel, about to walk away, when Vegeta suddenly appeared in front of me again, just inches separating our noses. 

I raised an eyebrow at him. What'd he want _now?_ Then he reached forward and ran his fingers through my hair. Vegeta stared at the brown strands looping across his hands as if they were the most fascinating thing he'd ever seen. He bent, pushing his face to bury into those loose strands. His hands delved at the nape of my neck and clenched gently, displaying both his inhuman strength and tender affection in one simple, tiny movement. I shivered slightly, not from fear or the cold. 

"Why are you shaking?" he murmured lowly and I felt his hidden lips move upon my skin, his breath tingling like molten silk through my hair. 

"Dunno," was all I could manage and even that choked out as a throaty falter. 

For awhile all he did was touch his lips upon my neck, cheek against cheek, blood pounding in my ears. "Ally . . ." he breathed. "What you do to me; you have no idea. You're my anger, my frustration, my . . ." --he huffed-- "my inability, my madness, my empathy, my hand stretching toward light. You are everything that stirs me alive," he ended, and his hands tightened even more, not quite overstepping the boundary into pain. If he wanted to meld himself into me, borrow beneath my skin, I would have let him. Anything to be closer. Anything to show him that I returned those rare, unguarded words he had uttered. I tried to speak but my throat had closed and I only emitted a damp whimper. 

Dark eyes lifted and swallowed me. "Don't you dare," he warned. "Don't you dare, damn you!" 

I was surprised by his sudden fierceness, the way he seized my shoulders and his power flared around us in that bright blue swell so unique to him. The tears clung frozen to my eyelashes; I hadn't even known they were there, ready to overspill. 

I realized then how much of an effect one person could have on another. Every action Vegeta made, every grunt he uttered, guided how I reasoned and felt, how I reacted. I never thought there were equal standards and while _I_ had been aware of Vegeta . . . Vegeta himself had also been well aware of me. This realization, this great understanding, left me feeling more venerable than I had ever felt during my entire existence in this beautifully twisted anime world, and the startling thing was-- I sensed that Vegeta had to be feeling the same suffering distress. 

And he didn't know how to handle it. 

I remembered what Piccolo, dear wise Piccolo, had said to me earlier, calling Vegeta an emotionally-torn Saiyajin. Did normal Saiyajins even feel such emotions that tore at their heart? _Could_ they? 

Maybe that was why Vegeta always acted so strongly against his own, lashing out in anger or simply leaving the situation - usually me - behind. Many times he had grown angry with me because I threw him off, such as when I wished to live as long as a Saiyajin and our strange link unsteadied him as much as me. But . . . right now I didn't sense any anger from him or in his thoughts and he showed no sign of disappearing. 

What could I do? What could I say? I knew this creature like I knew the flutter of wind tugging at my clothes, but yet we stood like two stones on a mountain, held up by one another yet far too separate. 

Vegeta's forehead burned hotly against my temple, his eyes squeezed shut. "Don't you dare," he hissed again through his teeth. Don't what? Don't cry so he didn't feel it too? 

I tried to move my trapped arms and he released his hold on them enough so that I could without wrenching something out of socket. I wound them around his waist, his sleek muscles tensing and then slowly relaxing under careful instruction. "Vegeta," I whispered, ghosting my lips over his. "Breathe out . . . so I can breathe you in . . ." 

His eyes sprung open, blackness a blank envelope questioning and warm and so unlike Vegeta. I wondered briefly if I was seeing _inside_ him, inside the very part of him he tried so hard to keep hidden. I wondered why. 

Lips returned my own light touch, brushing fevered skin to fevered skin, hovering between a kiss and something greater. He exhaled and warmth streamed into me, spreading throughout me like the Gateway's life-giving glow and perhaps it _was_ the Gateway, my connection to anime, my link. 

I had never experienced something so intimate that couldn't be described and our almost-kiss breached that boundary of spoken words. The most I, later, would be able to describe it as being was like the pressing of a finger in the tender part of your palm, or the sensation of climbing a hill, standing at the top, the exact moment you beheld even more hills, all of them covered in bright violet wallflowers. It was like that and so much more - a caress of lips, a sharing of breath, and a stare more sensual than either. 

*** 

I woke up alone; I knew I would. I stretched a little, noticing my previously discarded shirt and shoes laying nearby along with the rest of my clothes neatly folded. A blush twinged my cheeks and I quickly dressed and tied back my hair, remembering our rough and almost desperate movements mere hours ago. The sun was close to setting now and the sight of that bloodied orb dipping into the earth probably could have symbolized more if I let it. 

Perhaps in the future I would confront Vegeta with what I had seen in his black eyes. For now if was enough that I had merely witnessed it and Vegeta knew that I had witnessed it. It was enough that we had resolved our sins against each other - in the way Vegeta enjoyed (and myself, though I won't admit it to him) the most. He was probably watching me from above, no doubt, smirking in that self-satisfied way. 

I smiled because he could see it, squared my shoulders and went to find Trunks.

Trunks . . .   
  


*********************   
  


I must thank my roommate Emchay-chan for some inspiration. The 'breathe out so I can breathe you in" line comes from a Foo Fighters song called "Ever Long," but Emchay really must be thanked for the idea. 

Also, someone may be wondering: why the sudden sap? There's only one chapter left of "Purple Haze" (plus an epilogue and some side stories) and that leaves absolutely no room for romance between Vegeta and Ally. I felt like I owed them, since they have been my main focus for several years. The Ally Universe will end with "Purple Haze Appearing" so this is my way of thanking the pair (and you) for so many memories. 

But anyways, enough of the author's rambling, ne? ^_^ If there's something that happened between Ally and Vegeta or something Ally said that was kinda off to you, I'll explain it in the notes I'll post after the fics done. ^_^ Feel free to ask any questions too, if you want. I love mail. ^_^ 


	12. Ally's plea

This is is, folks, the last chapter of "Purple Haze Appearing." 

This is dedicated to To-chan, who slyly tricked me today into promising I'd have this finished and posted by midnight tonight. : P ****   
  
  
  


**Chapter 11**

I walked in no particular direction, until Vegeta finally stopped following me. I found his open protectiveness sweet in a strange "you're mine and no one else's" kind of way, and even though he was more protectiveness now because of Trunks, he really had always been like that. But now was not the time for his unavoidable mate instincts. I had to talk to Trunks _alone_, no matter how much I dreaded it. 

What was I supposed to say to him? To Mirai Trunks? After everything I'd done . . . after everything I'd done to him. Messed up his future. Messed up any sort of friendship I might have formed. 

I toed off my shoes and buried my toes in the soft grass with every footfall. I remembered how my riaru mother had never let me go barefoot and how much it had meant to me when Trunks offered to share the experience. 

Once I was sure Vegeta was gone, I whistled for Nimbus and climbed onto the orange cloud. My strange friend took to the skies. 

Finding Trunks turned out to be easier than I expected. He was sitting beside Longshore Lake, one knee tucked up and clasped by tanned hands. A band-aid covered a cheek and his blue eyes stared across the still waters reflecting the twilight, limb-broken sky. 

I stepped off Nimbus, letting my bare feet crunch against some rocks so I wouldn't startle him since he couldn't sense me coming. He gave no indication he'd even heard me. _Kami, what must he be thinking?_ I wondered if I was doing the right thing. 

I walked gingerly to his side and cleared my throat. "Thought I might find you here," I said quietly, not wanting to bring the silence crashing down around us. 

He didn't move or say anything for a long time. I felt stupid, foolish, sticking my nose where it didn't belong and wanting to leave because of it. Then I heard his almost inaudible reply. 

"This was the only place I could go . . . that had good memories." 

"Yes," was all I could say. Silence fell over us again. "But some of it shouldn't have happened." 

His eyes fell away from the lake but still he didn't look at me. "I never had someone who understood what being lost meant until I met you, Ally. But . . . you should have told me . . ." His throat seemed to close up and he couldn't speak. 

"I know. I know!" I said empathetically, as if trying to make myself believe it too. "But I was so scared, Trunks. Scared that all I fought for would be snatched away from me again. My fear hurt you . . . I never wanted that." And I didn't. Oh, I didn't! 

Trunks raised his head and looked at me through lavender locks. His bright eyes were doing that shimmering thing and I wanted to close my own green eyes so I wouldn't have to see the agonizing complexity of emotion flickering there. He glanced down. 

"Where are your shoes?" 

I shrugged. "I decided to feel the grass beneath my feet again." 

He gave a brief nod and gazed back out at the calming lake. Was that it? Was that all that would be exchanged between us? He would leave and I would return to Vegeta and that would that. 

"The Androids," he murmured before I had a chance to say anything. "When you said that you had seen them, I flew to the town to track them down. I was prepared to fight them, to stop them at any cost." He paused and bit his thumb, hunching up his shoulders slightly. "I saw them, Ally, I _saw_ them. Some little girl knocked on their door, selling cookies, and it opened, and I _saw_ the two nightmares that had haunted me for so long. It would have been so easy to give in to my anger, my rage, my hatred, and challenge them right then. But . . . but they bought a box of cookies from that little girl and . . . I saw them smile at each other. I let them go. I hadn't believed you when you said they were different. But I've seen it now for myself. Somehow . . . things changed." 

"I should have known," I said and clenched my hands into fists, frustrated. "I should have realized that the timelines had shifted. Back in riaru, I knew that it happened. I should have known," I ended lamely, shoving my fists into jean pockets. I scowled down at the ground. 

"I understand what you mean," Trunks said quietly after a moment. "I knew traveling to the past would have consequences." His brow crinkled as he frowned. "I never should have come." 

"Don't say that!" I admonished, snapping my head up. Turning on my heel, I stalked around the clearing, waving a hand. "You had every right to come here - to see your old friends, to see Gokou, to see your _father!_" 

The lavender-haired youth sucked in a sharp breath, nostrils flaring with anger. "That man is _not_ my father," he bit out. 

"Yes, he is," I argued. "And no matter how much he'd like to deny it, Vegeta realizes this." Trunks snorted and looked away. "I've lived with Vegeta for over six years," I said, softer. "And known him even longer. "I doubt he'd ever admit it, but I'll bet he's proud that you're his son and a Super Saiyajin." 

Trunks was silent, blue eyes staring at nothing. I thought perhaps I'd said something wrong, gone to far, presumed too much. 

"My mother," he said. "Wished every night that there was a world somewhere without the terror of the Androids." He took a breath, let it out slowly. "And I've found it. But . . . but I'd say she never thought it would be without me too." 

"Trunks . . ." I searched for something to say. "There's Torank. He's half you in a sense. So are Bapa and Trilku. They're all three a part of you- I can see your goodness in all of them." I spread my hands and took a few steps closer. "Look, Trunks, I'm sorry for what I did so long ago but I can't change it. Even if I could . . . I don't think I- I would _want_ to." 

Trunks sighed, a weighted sound. "I don't expect you to." He stood suddenly, stepping gracefully from the water's edge. "I'm going to see my 'kaasan, even if in this universe, she isn't." 

"Trunks-" I choked. 

"And say goodbye to her," he finished. He startled me by wrapping me up in a fleeting but firm hug, touching my face with his palm as we parted. He gave a small smile, a shadow really. It was a forgiving smile though, one that would be forever burned into my memory. And then he turned away and disappeared in a dazzle of white ki light. 

_Ally, will you remember me?_

_W-why are you asking such a thing, Trunks?_

_I need to know . . . will you remember me?_

_Of course I will, silly. Forever and always_. 

"Goodbye, Mirai Trunks," I whispered, a breeze clasping my words and spreading them out. 

I never saw him again. 

*** 

Oh purple haze shining... 

bright against the night. 

You cast your shadow upon us 

a shadow bringing light.   
  


Oh purple haze, dear heart, 

I understand after so many tears shimmered... 

You asked not to be love, or cursed, or acknowledged, or born... 

but only to be remembered...   
  


and you will be, dear Trunks... 

you will be... 

*** 

I wandered around for the longest time, not really knowing where I was going, and not really caring. Somehow I ended up back on that high cliff. Somehow the earth sprang away from me and I was falling, falling, falling with my arms thrown wide open, embracing the expansion of air. 

Vegeta caught me before the ground got too close, enveloping me tightly against him. I could almost _feel_ Dende smiling down on me, and Kami too, wherever he was. And somewhere, everywhere, I could almost hear the Eternal Dragon's deep chuckle. After all, he was the reason I was here. And Vegeta . . . well, Vegeta was the reason I stayed. 

I shifted a little so I could peer into his face. His dark eyes were focused ahead; Vegeta rarely liked to dwell in the past. But . . . I wanted to know the answer to just one question . . . something that had been sitting in the back of my mind. 

How did Vegeta really feel about Trunks? 

All Trunks ever wanted out of the father he never knew was to be accepted as both an able warrior and son. _I know that Vegeta sees him as his son, _I thought, having an internal debate._ But does Vegeta realize that he realizes this? Or does he still consider him a threat? Maybe if I ask him now . . I can find out how he feels. But will he actually tell me? Or will he just do that cold, roll-eye thing and cross his arms?_

_Come to think of it, he looks awfully cute when he does that . . ._

I smiled to myself. 

Suddenly Vegeta turned his head and gave me the most peculiar stare. I stared back at him. "What?" When he didn't answer, I said again, "_What?_" 

His chest puffed out slightly as he gave something between a sigh and an exasperated snort. "Woman, I swear every telepath within a thousand miles would be able to hear your thoughts." 

_Oops._

"And so you will stop broadcasting them so loudly," he continued roughly. "The boy and I talked before he left. I told him any son of mine had better not slack up on his training after he defeats those metal things." 

I gave him a mock expression of shock. "You _didn't!_" 

The glare I received could have melted fire. 

I made sure I screamed really loud when Vegeta dropped me, just so that damned Prince could smirk at me later for it. 

And I smiled as he caught me within seconds. I knew he always would. 

*** 

_"Hey, Mama!"_

_"Yes, Trilku?"_

_"Papa told me that you come from a place called . . . called . . . kangaroo or something."_

_Quiet laughter. "Riaru."_

_"Yeah, that! He said he thought you were weird when he first saw you."_

_"Did he now?"_

_"Yup! Mama, what happened on Namek when you met Papa? He won't say and I wanna know."_

_"Do you really?"_

_Fierce nod._

_"Alright then, son, go get Bapa and I'll tell the both of you."_

_"Thanks, Mama! She'll wanna hear it to. Oh, and Mama?"_

_"Yes, son?"_

_"Do you still love Papa?"_

_No hesitation. "Yes, son, I love him very much."_

_"Good! 'Cause he told me that he loved you too. Oops! Wasn't supposed to tell you!" Burst of giggles. "Sis! Sister! Mama's gonna tell us a story! Hurry up! Jeez, she's so slow."_

_"Trilku . . ."_

_"Yes, Mama?"_

_"You have strange parents."_

_"I know, Mama. It's okay. Strange is good."_

*** 

My name is Ally sie Vegeta. Once upon a time, in the beginning, or however else you'd like to put it, everything was normal. Average. _Sane_. 

I had a normal life. Drove a normal car. Went to a normal school with normal friends. Lived in a normal house with a normal four-person family. Everything was fine and dandy. Until . . . 

So what's 'normal,' anyway? The surroundings? A way a person acts? 'Normal' is just a descriptive word meaning---. A word people use to make themselves feel protected. 

I was 'normal' until I woke up one day in a world that used to be make-believe. I was 'normal' until I realized that I _wasn't_ 'normal' anymore. 

I made this anime world the way I wanted it to be. _Not_ because I had the power. _Not_ because I meant to from the beginning. And _not_ because I didn't want it to be the way it should have been. I changed it because I wanted my own piece of Dragon Ball Z, and didn't realize what I was doing until too late. 

I've said I'm sorry and I can't say or do anything to make up for it. I've been forgiven and now it's up to you to decide for yourselves how you feel about it. Frankly, I don't care. But it is for Mirai Trunks's sake that I ask . . . no, I beg of you . . . please, whatever you do, wherever you go, remember him and help me correct my mistakes. I have already made so many. 

For me, now, normal means super powers and hungry Saiyajin stomachs and depending on an orange cloud for transportation. Normal means knowing gods and aliens and the strongest fighters in the galaxy. Normal means, well, it means the complete opposite of what it used to be. 

Thank Kami for that. 

That's the story I just told you. 

And, unbelievably, that's the story of my life. 

*********** 

The End.   
  


Yes, this is The End of "Purple Haze Appearing." You could very well stop here with the story, but fortunately, I have a short epilogue and at least three side stories to put up as well. 

Also, if you have any specific questions about the Ally Universe as a whole, or even specific chapters, that you'd like to have answered, email me them and I'll either answer you back or post them with the (long) notes I'll put up at the very end. 

Anyhoo, ja ne! 


	13. epilogue

**Epilogue**

_"And, unbelievably, that is the story of my life."_

"The end," I breathed. 

I sighed and slowly saved the rather large file. Finally. I'd finally written it all down. I rested my chin on an upturned palm, feeling the damp traces of wetness along my cheek, and gazed out the window. Such a clear, cloudless day today, peaceful, without any worries . . . 

There was a sound knock on the door and a tall figure stuck his head in, once unruly black hair now clipped and shaven. 

"Hey, sis!" he called breathlessly, ducking inside. He went immediately to the mirror behind the door and finished tucking in his starched shirt, leaving it open at the collar. "They've gathered outside already and are waiting for you to begin!" 

I turned in my seat and gave him a musing smile. "Thanks, Gohan. Tell them I'll be down soon." 

"Great! Okay." He slicked up his hair and turned to leave. Halfway out the door, he paused. "Did you finish?" 

I nodded in answer, rising to my feet. "The whole story's down now." 

Gohan beamed again and for a moment I was reminded of the little boy he once was. I could still hear his delighted squeals when he'd found out we were going to be siblings. So long ago . . . The memory faded and I blinked up at the tall man standing before me. "I'll be down soon," I said again, the words strained. 

"Right." Lifting one eyebrow, Gohan shut the door softly and his footballs thumped down the stairs. I listened awhile to the muffled voices, the front door opening and closing periodically, then bent and put on my shoes. 

Out of habit I glanced at myself in the mirror. Not a change. Even many, many years after that fateful wish couldn't very much effect my appearance. My two children aged faster than I did. Absentmindedly, I ran my hands through my shoulder-length hair. Years ago I'd gotten tired of the long mess and chopped it all off. Even my hair refused to age other than a few grey hairs. I rubbed the stains from my cheeks and walked out of the bedroom. 

Downstairs was crowded with friends and family- new and old. I shifted among them, exchanging words of greeting and sparks of laughter (and glares with those who disliked me.) A hand closed upon my own and I looked slightly up into twin midnight orbs. 

"Outside," Vegeta all but ordered, if not for his sparkling eyes. He pulled me through the crowd and the front door banged behind us. I smiled at the glowing faces that sought me out and left Vegeta's side to stand in front of the group. The wide-eyed faces stared up at me, waiting for me to begin. 

I sat in the small chair amid the semi-circle of children and the others behind them. Nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and many others dear to me - in each one I could see their parents, and me, and the bond I felt was almost overwhelming. Tilting my head a little, I looked back at Vegeta standing on the porch. His penetrating gaze briefly shifted from me to our two children (children no longer) as they passed by him, and then back to me knowingly. 

"Mom, I can't believe you're still telling this story," said Trilku. Bapa made a face at him, a face reflected by his own daughter sitting in the semi-circle, and plopped down to listen. Trilku crossed his arms, looking miffed, but shied up to his wife (Gohan's first-born, ironically), in the back. I glanced one last time at Vegeta, who was in the process of shrugging off unwanted friendliness from Gokou, took a deep breath, and began. 

"Twenty years ago," I said, stating each word softly. "There came a young man. His hair was a pale lavender, his eyes the color of frozen glass. This young man's name was Mirai Trunks and his smile could light up the world." They listened in raptured silence as I told them of the mysterious youth. Every year I repeated Trunks's story and every year they'd come to hear it. 

I left nothing out, even as much as I wanted to. My betrayal of him, everything that happened those few days so long ago, everything I remembered about him. He had become sort of a legend amongst the children, a hero that had suffered unlike they would ever suffer. 

I gave it my best year after year after endless year and it never ceased to amaze me how much Trunks had affected our lives since he left. Gokou seemed wiser; Krillin a little more happy; Piccolo stayed at Dende's side less grudgingly; Vegeta was more protective, but less obvious. And I . . . I . . . 

"- to the future. I never saw him again." I finished the tale, a lofty, sad sort of smile fixed on my face at the memories. Then I gave a little toss of my head and got to my feet amid the little ones' groans. "You've been a wonderful audience, but I've got to help ChiChi and Bulma with feeding all of you." They all voiced their protest but I excused myself with a grin and hurriedly sought out a hole in the crowd. I didn't know why the memories still affected me so, why this time hurt worse than all the others. Maybe it was because this was the twentieth anniversary of when Trunks had left us, with no contact from him since. Or maybe it was because I knew I was so unworthy to tell the story. Next year, next year I knew someone else would have to take up the honor. Perhaps Bulma, who seemed to want to. 

"There you are." Vegeta appeared in front of me, eyes glimmering unvoiced concern. "Here." He handed me a glass of lemonade and I silently thanked my husband for the distraction. 

"More this year," he remarked after an extended silence. 

I raised an eyebrow at the offered conversation and nodded. "Our family and friends keep expanding, don't they?" 

"Breeding like a bunch of rabbits," Vegeta muttered under his breath. 

"Yeah." I held back a chuckle and hid my smile behind the glass. "Or Saiyajins," I wanted to say but knew _that_ comment would send him into yet another rant. His 'old age,' and the tiny grey hairs starting to peep through his dark hair, seemed to make the Prince all the more cranky. 

Vegeta startled me again. "The boy would have been proud," he said, voice both gruff and gentle. 

I turned to face him. "You're not just saying that, are you?" 

He snorted. "I don't 'just say' anything, woman. That boy left knowing that his future in this universe would be none-existent and yet you have made it so that it is not. If he knew what you have done for him-" He cut off, tensing. Sharp eyes swung over the crowd in jerky movements, and I felt the tingling sensation of the ki shield he suddenly brought up around the both of us. 

I frowned. "Vegeta? What is it?" 

"Quiet," he bit out. I noticed how some of the other warriors had also frozen where they were, on alert. Gokou looked like he was searching for the source of this concern and was conversing quietly with his two sons. Krillin had moved closer to his own family; Juuhachigou's icy eyes were narrowed and I could feel her power steadily rising in preparation. And Vegeta . . . Vegeta I knew was quickly laying out the situation, shifting his weight to one foot should he have to suddenly spring forward. Silence reigned over all of us, but I couldn't tell just what exactly the power . . . was . . . 

Then the same feeling washed over me and I laughed out loud. My outburst startled everyone, but I ignored their stares. I ran forward, laughing some more, and waved madly at the light that appeared above us. I couldn't wait to show how much I had been affected, how much I'd grown. 

The others joined me as they caught on and we all threw our hands into the sky, welcoming, and shouts of "Trunks is back!" rang up through the mountains.   
  


THE FINAL END of "Purple Haze Appearing"   
  


**A few comments at the end of this loooong journey:**

****I KNOW that Gohan would appear to be a lot older than he should have been when Mirai Trunks came to the past in the normal universe; therefore, Trunks should have eventually noticed something was screwed up when he saw Gohan. But I decided not to EVEN go there in this fic! ^_^ By Kami, this thing was confusing enough as it was! 

****Hmm . . . Dende got to Earth a little fast ::shrug:: but I needed him there quickly . . . so sue me. ::innocent look:: 

****The scenes where Ally is contemplating on the cliff, the 'make-up' scene with Vegeta, and the scenes in which Ally is actually _falling_ off the cliff were inspired by the Creed song "With Arms Wide Open." Any similar words were used intentionally. ^_^ 

****The idea to bring Juuachigou and Juuanagou back to the Ally Universe came from Gabriyel's "Threnody." I had to do some studying on Juuachigou's character for Krillin's Side Story, which also made me appreciate that particular chick some more. Did anyone else notice that Krillin got the most gorgeous female in all of DBZ?? Excluding Ally (kidding). 

****The extreme sap in Chapter 9 is dedicated to Elizabeth Knight for inspiring me with her own Ally Universe fanfic "Return to Me." Go read! ::nudges:: 

****Some people have asked me where exactly all the villains went to and why didn't they ever show up. My theory is this: In the actual DBZ universe, there are times when Mirai Trunks effected what happened in the past just by being there, such as changing the time when Gokou got those heart problems, and all the extra Androids. So . . . in the Ally Universe, I figured Ally being there could have the same effect. For instance- the Androids didn't act on the whole "gotta kill Gokou" programming. Android 16, 19, and 20 didn't exist. Cell was never created (or perhaps died when the laboratory was destroyed). Etc... etc... etc... Of course, this means that OTHER benefits from fighting all these battles never happen either. I never actually say if Gohan ever becomes a Super Saiyajin, nor Goten or Trilku. (Or Bapa for that matter. ^_^) Gokou probably never becomes SSJ 3, etc. Gokou and Vegeta never have a reason to fuse.... the complications are endless. This was just a big decision on my part and I reckon it worked out the way I wanted.   
  


Now it's time for me to talk. ^_^ And yes, I can't help it. 

**It all started when . . .**

In the wide world of fanfiction, there is an unbelievable amount of self-insertions. "The Ally Universe" started off as being no different. At the very beginning, I planned on only making it a small romp into DBZ, ending it with Ally going back home. Owari. The End. But then Ally wasn't happy with that and forced me to make her go back. I tried to bring her to riaru once again later and once again Ally won out and ended up staying permanently in anime. No matter what I did, _she_ wanted to stay. It was then that I realized this fic had progressed into something other than a 'self-insertion.' 

Oh, the same lifestyle is there. Ally had a normal, four-person family as I do. A brother called Manny and some friends called Tamara and David, like I do. She also went to a school called Mars Hill, and loved to watch Dragon Ball Z and her real name is Alicia too. But that's where the similarities end. My main goal with this fic was to create a character that readers could both like and hate, sympathize with and call an idiot. I tried very hard to ster away from "Mary Sue" stereotypes, except the fact that Ally was the focal point of the story. 

Making "The Ally Universe" in Ally's 1st person view was probably the best decision I could have made. This enabled me to see the canon DBZ characters in newer ways (especially Vegeta). It also let me dive into the thoughts of a person looking at what's around her and seeing it in a different way than before. Most all of the other "girl-gets-stuck-in-anime-land" fanfics I'd read involved a 'normal' girl doing precisely what Ally did - getting stranded and hooking up with a canon character. But unlike those other girls, Ally never adapted as easily as they did. Even at the very end of the series, the reader still sees that Ally's doubtful about her situation. And also, a lot (not all, of course) of those other fanfics weren't very realistic. Oh yes, the stranded person keeps secret all that he/she knows about those particular anime characters, but it never can be as easy as keeping a mouth shut. 

I think the most likeable characteristic of Ally is that she's not very likeable. I never got tired of writing from her pov, but by the end of the series her faults just seemed to appear more prominent. It was like: hello! This girl's got some serious issues about who she is as a person. Something I really realized at the end was that Ally was definitely self-centered. _Where do I belong? How do I keep all this a secret? Do I love Vegeta? Was it all worth the trouble?_ I believe what she did to Mirai Trunks was terrible. That's why I'm glad that I let Trunks feel like he did at the end (in his Just on the Side story). After all she'd done, it shouldn't've been that easy for Trunks to forgive/forget. He forgave Ally, yes, but it was like they were back at square-one. They had to start all over. Anyways, I talk more about all that at the end of each "Side Story" chapter. 

I'm sure you're tired of me rambling on and on and on. Before I finish, let me assure you that this is NOT the end of the Ally Universe, as originally planned. You're probably wondering what the heck the "Just on the Side" stories are. Well, I was reading through "PHA" and I realized that I really didn't go into detail about how the canon DBZ characters felt. Lots of things were left out, unanswered questions, etc, etc, so I decided to write a fic completely for those canon DBZ characters. There will be five in all, and I've already completed several. ::grin:: I'll stick the prologue up soon. 

Ja ne! 

~Arishia-chan~ 


End file.
